Repeated History
by mlt
Summary: Sometimes history repeats itself. Will Nathan follow in his father's footsteps or will he step up to the challenge life has thrown at him? HaleyNathan pairing. Maybe some PeytonLucas later on. Three chapter update. COMPLETED!
1. Chapter One

Author's Note: This is the first fan fiction I've written in a while but this storyline was nagging at me to write it. The story deals with teen pregnancy so if you're uncomfortable with that topic don't read. I have three more chapters written so if anyone likes this one I'll post more later tonight.  
  
Summary: Sometimes history repeats itself. Will Nathan follow in his father's footsteps or will he step up to the challenge life has thrown at him? Haley/Nathan pairing. Maybe some Peyton/Lucas later on.  
  
Distribution: Just ask me first.  
  
Chapter One  
  
"Hey Mom," Nathan Scott called out as he closed the door and tossed his stuff on the floor.  
  
"Hey Sweetie." Deb answered, walking in from the kitchen. "How was practice?"  
  
"Good." He liked that his mom left it at that. His dad would ask how many points he had, how much playing time and know matter how he answered, it wouldn't be good enough.  
  
"Glad to hear it. Dinner's going to be another hour. You studying with Haley tonight?"  
  
"Yeah, she'll be here around seven."  
  
"Well call her and tell her to come early and eat with us."  
  
"Okay Mom."  
  
Nathan couldn't believe how much his life and changed in a few short months. A few months ago he'd been crumbling under the pressure put on him by his father. A few months ago he was being eaten up by resentment of his half-brother Lucas' spot on the team and in his life. A few months he'd thought he could be a jerk to whoever he felt like, whenever he felt like it., like Lucas and Peyton, even Haley. Then he'd collapsed on the court during a basketball game and he world had changed.  
  
He remembered listening to his dad arguing with the doctor and thinking he didn't have the strength to face him with the truth. So he'd pulled the IV out of his arm and walked out. He hadn't had a destination in mind. He'd just wanted to get away. He'd found himself at Haley's house. When no one answered the door he'd just walked up to her room. He'd expected her to tell him to go to Hell; he deserved it after the way he'd treated her but she hadn't. She'd just sat beside him while he'd poured it all out, his parents' shaky marriage, his dad pushing him to get Lucas off the team, the drugs. Then he'd just cried.  
  
They'd ended up talking all night and falling asleep in each other's arms. He'd never done that before. With Peyton, there'd never been much talking involved. He'd never felt like he could talk to anyone like he could talk to Haley.  
  
That was three months ago and he'd never been happier. Today was the first practice since that fateful game against Cope City. He'd needed to take some time to think about why he'd done the things he did and to learn to love the game again. Turns out that had been a night of realization for his mom too. She'd kicked his dad out and hadn't let him back in. At first Nathan had been surprised but then he realized that if he had such a hard time living with his dad, it couldn't be easy for her either. She and Karen were working together on expanding the café into a full scale restaurant. It was obvious that Deb was really happy to be doing something that was all hers for once. And he was happy for her, even is it did mean she was tight with Lucas' mom.  
  
He and Lucas were starting to mend fences, little by little, at Haley's insistence. There was a lot of anger and bitterness on both sides but she was determined that her best friend and her boyfriend were going to get along. Nathan had to admit that Luke had been pretty cool about the whole basketball hiatus thing. The other guys had been pissed but Luke knew it was something Nathan needed to do. Now Luke was the one carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders. Nathan was surprised to find he didn't mind. He was relieved. And it was Lucas who'd suggested they play one on one every day after he finished practice so that Nathan wasn't rusty when he did decide to rejoin the team. Finally, basketball was fun again.  
  
"Earth to Nathan."  
  
"Huh? Oh hi Haley. He gave her a kiss on the forehead.  
  
"Where were you just now?"  
  
"Thinking. I've been known to do that from time to time you know."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Everything that's happened since Cop City, my parents, basketball, us."  
  
"Been a little crazy huh?"  
  
"That's just it; it hasn't felt crazy. It probably should but it doesn't. It feels normal."  
  
"How's your mom doing?"  
  
"Really great; she's filed for a legal separation from my dad and she's really thrilled about the café."  
  
"What about you, I mean are you okay with your parents splitting up?"  
  
"You know, I thought I'd be more upset. I mean no one wants their parents to split up but they weren't happy. We weren't happy. It's better this way."  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
"Hey you two." Deb poked her head through the doorway. "Dinner's on the table."  
  
"Okay Mom, be right there."  
  
The kitchen  
  
"This is great pasta Mrs Scott."  
  
"Thank you. And please, call me Deb."  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"No need to apologize. You and Nathan have been together for more than three months now Haley. I want you to feel comfortable with me."  
  
"I guess I never figured I'd be eating here. Thanks for inviting me."  
  
"No, thank you. Dinner table conversation has never been a Scott strong point. It's nice to talk about something other than the weather."  
  
Haley looked at Nathan. "What? You mean you're not a brilliant conversationalist?"  
  
"I'm a guy. We don't like to talk while we eat."  
  
Later, in Nathan's room  
  
"So, I got my English paper back."  
  
"Yeah, well let's see it."  
  
He handed it to her, keeping his face expressionless, and waited for her reaction.  
  
"An A! Oh my God Nathan that's great."  
  
"And I have you to thank."  
  
"No you don't. You never even showed me that paper."  
  
"I know but you were my muse."  
  
"Your muse?"  
  
"Yeah. When you were explaining A Tale of Two Cities to me you just got so passionate about it, you know, and you made me want to read the book so that I could share that with you. That's the first time I've ever put any effort into understanding a book in English class, That's why I'm doing so much better in school Haley. It's not because you explain things, a lot of people could do that. You make me want to learn this stuff."  
  
"Really?" "Really." She kissed him, catching him off guard. "What was that for?"  
  
"I wanted to. I think we've done enough studying for tonight." She sat down on his bed. "Nathan, come sit down."  
  
He slowly crossed the room and sat beside her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "Nathan."  
  
His heart was already pounding. "Haley."  
  
"I don't want to wait any more."  
  
He looked at her, tried to read her eyes. "Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes I'm sure."  
  
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You know you can't take it back tomorrow."  
  
"Nathan, shut up." 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two  
  
Peyton walked into the girls' washroom to the sound of someone puking. She was about to turn around and leave when she saw Haley walk out of the stall.  
  
"Hey Haley. You okay?"  
  
"Better now. I'm feeling a little queasy this morning."  
  
"You coming down with something?"  
  
"I don't know. It usually goes away by second period."  
  
"Usually? How long have you been feeling like this?"  
  
"A week or so I think."  
  
"Haley, I know this is none of my business but could you be pregnant?"  
  
"What?! No!"  
  
"You're positive? Because morning sickness is a telltale sign."  
  
"I'm not pregnant." Haley's voice was shaking. "I can't be."  
  
"So you and Nathan haven't."  
  
"Yeah but we're careful."  
  
"Careful's not always good enough. Have you had your period?"  
  
"No. I'm a few days late. God, I was hoping this would just go away."  
  
"Hey it might be a false alarm. Look, we'll get you a test. No need to worry until you know for sure."  
  
"I can't just walk into a store and buy a pregnancy test."  
  
"Then I will."  
  
"You'd do that?"  
  
"Sure. I wouldn't be the first time." She caught the look Haley gave her. "I'm friends with Brooke remember?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"Your parents at home?"  
  
"No, they're visiting my sister."  
  
"Good. Come on."  
  
"I can't cut class. Not for this."  
  
"Sure you can, especially for this. It's not you're going to be able to concentrate until you know one way or another anyway."  
  
"I guess. Might as well get it over with."  
  
30 minutes later  
  
Haley paced back and forth across the room, wringing her hands. "How much longer?"  
  
"Thirty seconds. Okay, done."  
  
Haley stopped just short of the bathroom. "I can't look."  
  
"Do you want me too?"  
  
"Could you?"  
  
Peyton went into the bathroom and picked up the test off the counter. She brought it out to Haley.  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"It's positive."  
  
Haley sank to the floor and put her head in her hands. "What am I going to do?"  
  
Before Peyton could think of something to say the phone rang. "I'll get that." He picked up the receiver. "Hello, James' residence."  
  
"Peyton, is that you? Is Haley there?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Can I talk to her? She wasn't in class today. She never misses class so I was worried about her." "She's not feeling very well. Nathan, why don't you just come over here."  
  
"Peyton, what's wrong."  
  
"Just get over here."  
  
***  
  
Nathan let himself into Haley's house and rushed up the stairs. He found her curled up on her bed, sobbing. He was immediately at her side, stroking her hair, trying to get her to talk.  
  
"Come on baby, what's wrong." Haley's sobs got louder. He looked at Peyton, who was sitting in a chair by the bed. "What's wrong with her?"  
  
"Tell him Haley."  
  
"I.I.ca...n't." She was barely coherent.  
  
Peyton handed Nathan the pregnancy test that was still sitting on the dresser. He turned pale as it all became clear.  
  
"Is this what I think it is?"  
  
"It's positive."  
  
"God.um.I need to sit down."  
  
"You already are."  
  
"Right. My head won't stop spinning."  
  
"Then knock it against a wall or something because Haley needs you."  
  
"Yeah. I've got it from here Peyton, Thanks."  
  
"No problem. I'll to you later Haley."  
  
After Peyton left Nathan gathered a still crying Haley into his arms and held her against him. "Shhhhh. It's going to be okay."  
  
Haley looked up, wiped the tears from her eyes. "How Nathan? Seriously. How is it going to be okay. I'm pregnant. I'm still in high school and I'm going to have a baby. Nothing you say is going to change that."  
  
"I know Hales, I know. Believe me, I'm just as scared as you are. See that's the thing Haley, this happened to both of us and we are going to get through it together,"  
  
The next day  
  
Nathan ran into Peyton in the hall before class and approached her. "Hey."  
  
"Hey. How's Haley?"  
  
"Scared. She stayed home today. Yesterday was pretty overwhelming."  
  
"No kidding. How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm not even sure. I have a million thoughts going through my head and not one of them makes any sense."  
  
"Well I'm no expert but I hear that's pretty normal. So, you guys talk much after I left?"  
  
"Yeah. We agreed that we need to tell our parents before we make any decisions."  
  
"Probably a good idea. I don't envy you though."  
  
"I gotta get to class. I promised Hales I'd take notes for her. Thanks for being there for her Peyton. I really appreciate it."  
  
"Anytime."  
  
Later that night  
  
"It's going to be okay." Nathan squeezed Haley's hand as they sat on the couch in her living room.  
  
"Promise?"  
  
"Cross my heart."  
  
"So Nathan," Haley's mom said cheerfully as she sat down. "I hear you're back playing basketball.  
  
"I'm practising again yeah but I haven't played any games yet. I'm hoping to be in the next one."  
  
"I'm sure you'll be great."  
  
"Thanks." Nathan wanted nothing more than to run out of there. Haley's parents were just starting to warm up to him and now they were going to think he was the scum of the Earth. When Haley's dad walked in he gulped. This was it.  
  
"Dinner was really great."  
  
"Thank you. That's very sweet."  
  
He squeezed Haley's hand again, hoping to give her some courage he didn't have.  
  
"So..um Mom, Dad.we kind of need to talk to you."  
  
"What is it Sweetie?"  
  
Haley took a deep breath, no sense dragging it out. "I'm pregnant."  
  
Her dad spit out his coffee and her mom nearly choked on her cookie.  
  
Mr James spoke first. "Tell me I didn't hear what I thought I heard."  
  
"It's true Dad."  
  
He got up from his seat and headed towards Nathan, who had never felt smaller. Haley ran between her dad and her boyfriend. "Dad, please, what's that going to help? Let's just talk about this."  
  
Nathan felt he needed to say something. "Mr and Mrs James, I know I'm not your favorite person right now and I don't blame you. I just want to tell you that I love your daughter and I'm going to be there for her."  
  
"Just like your dad was there for Karen?"  
  
Nathan winced.  
  
"Dad, that's not fair."  
  
"I'm sorry sweetie but the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."  
  
"That's it. Come on Nathan, I'm not letting you take this from him."  
  
"It's okay Hales."  
  
"No it's not."  
  
Haley's mom ran out after them. "Haley, Nathan, wait." They turned around. "I'm sorry about that." She addressed Nathan. "It wasn't fair of him to mention your dad. He's just shocked and upset."  
  
"I don't blame him. But I'm not my father and I'm not walking away." "Have you decided what you're going to do?"  
  
"You mean like adoption?" Haley cut in. "Not yet. We wanted to tell you guys and Nate's parents first."  
  
"Fair enough. I just want you to know that whatever you decide, we'll support you," she looked at Nathan again, "both of you."  
  
"Thanks Mom."  
  
"Yeah, thanks." 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Four  
  
A Few days later  
  
"Hey Haley." Peyton said cheerfully when she walked into the tutoring center.  
  
"Hi Peyton."  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
Haley groaned. "I'm going to flunk out of school if I keep missing class in the mornings."  
  
"No you won't. Here." She handed her a small stack of papers.  
  
"What's this?"  
  
"Notes from this morning. Nathan made me promise to take good notes if you weren't in class."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"So, you haven't told Luke yet have you?"  
  
"How did you know?"  
  
"When I saw Nathan this morning he didn't have a black eye."  
  
Haley managed a laugh. "Yeah. I think I'm more afraid to tell him than I was to tell my parents. He's going to kill Nathan."  
  
"No he won't. He'll just want to."  
  
"I hate this. They're just getting to the point where they can be in the same room without insulting each other. They can even act like friends now and then. This is definitely going to undo that."  
  
"It'll be okay. So you're told your parents?"  
  
Haley nodded. "And Nathan's."  
  
"Ooh, how'd that go?"  
  
"Well my dad didn't try to run him down with the car so that's a good sign. Basically they're disappointed but they're supporting us. Well, my mom anyway. My dad's going to take longer." "And Nathan's parents?"  
  
"Deb was great. She didn't yell or even give us a lecture. Mr Scott, well you can guess what he said."  
  
"Not pleasant huh?"  
  
"No. He told Nate that it was my problem and not a good enough reason to walk away from his future. If Deb hadn't kicked him out he probably would have suggested Nathan wasn't the father."  
  
"Ouch. What did Nathan have to say to that?"  
  
"Just that unlike his dad, he was man enough to face up to his responsibilities."  
  
"Go Nathan."  
  
Haley smiled. "I have to admit, and don't you dare tell Nathan I said this, a part of me was worried he would follow in his father's footsteps."  
  
"My lips are sealed. You know I haven't exactly been his biggest fan and a few months ago I definitely would have expected him to bail but he loves you."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You decided anything yet. Oh.." Peyton slapped her hand to her mouth. "Sorry, that's really non of my business."  
  
"It's okay. We talked for a really long time after we left his house and we decided we're going to be parents. We thought about adoption but I just kept thinking about what my life would have been like if Karen and given up Lucas. He's like a brother to me. Or even if Deb and put Nathan up for adoption. I admire people who are selfless enough to put a child up for adoption but I don't think I could carry a baby for nine months and then let it go."  
  
"Yeah. It isn't going to be easy you know."  
  
"We're not expecting it to be and if it were just me I don't think I could do it but you know, Nathan was the one who first said he wanted to keep it. He's the one who said he couldn't imagine handing his child over to a stranger. That really touched me you know. When I first found out I was pregnant, I felt totally alone. He makes me feel less scared."  
  
The next morning  
  
Lucas watched Haley suddenly turn pale and run out of their English class. A second later, he say Nathan follow her. Concerned, he rasied his hand.  
  
"Yes Mr Scott."  
  
"Can I be excused?"  
  
"Well at least somebody asked. Go ahead. You've got five minutes."  
  
Nathan knocked on the door of the stall.  
  
"It's occupied." Haley answered, seconds before throwing up again.  
  
"Hales, it's me."  
  
"Nathan?! What are you doing in here? It's the girls' washroom. She flushed the toilet and came out of the stall, her face still a little green.  
  
"I wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you?"  
  
"I feel better now. I really didn't want to miss class again this morning. I'm okay now, really. Let's go back."  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
When Nathan saw Lucas sitting outside the bathroom it was his turn to turn pale.  
  
"Lucas," Haley asked. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I was worried about you the way you ran out of class like that."  
  
"I'm just not feeling great this morning, no big deal."  
  
"Come one, I'm your best friend. I have the right to be concerned. You've missed class every morning this week. And you," he said, looking at Nathan, "have been acting almost scared of me. What's going on?"  
  
"Lucas this really isn't the time or the place." Haley said.  
  
Nathan glanced down at his girlfriend and kissed her forehead. "We have to tell him eventually Haley, might as well be now."  
  
"Tell me what? And what do you mean we? What do you have to do with his?"  
  
"As a matter of fact, everything" 'Here goes,' he gulped. "Lucas, Haley ran out of class just now because she has morning sickness."  
  
"Morn." Lucas' eyes went wide.  
  
"She's pregnant. We're having a baby."  
  
"You're what?!" Lucas lunged at Nathan, shoving him against the wall. "You bastard! I'm going to kill you."  
  
"Lucas, stop." Haley pleaded, putting herself between the two brothers. The bell rang. "Look, let's get our stuff from class then go somewhere and talk."  
  
"Fine." Lucas said reluctantly. He stabbed a finger at Nathan's chest. "This isn't over."  
  
Nathan grimaced. "Believe me, I know."  
  
***  
  
"Sorry, we won't be open for another two weeks." Deb looked up from behind the counter of the almost renovated restaurant. "Oh, hello Nathan, Haley, Lucas. Shouldn't you be in school?"  
  
"Um yeah but Haley and I need to talk to Lucas."  
  
Deb glanced at Lucas, saw that the young man was seething with anger then gave her son a knowing look. "I see. I'll go in the back. Give you some privacy."  
  
"Thanks Mom."  
  
Lucas sat down and glared at Nathan. "So I take it she knows."  
  
"Yeah." Haley answered. "And so do my parents. I've been working up the nerve to tell you. I was afraid you were going to kill Nate."  
  
"I should." He looked at him. "You going to explain yourself?"  
  
"Lucas." Nathan started before being cut off by Haley.  
  
"Ill do it. Luke, you've taken biology class; you know how these things work. This isn't Nathan's fault. We were both there."  
  
"But he."  
  
"It was a choice Lucas. One we both made. We knew the consequences and we're prepared to face them."  
  
"Like father like son, I should have known."  
  
"Shut up Lucas." Haley snapped. "If Nathan were like his father would he have run out of class after me? I don't think so"  
  
Nathan started to get a little braver. "Look Lucas, I know you're mad and I don't blame you but the fact is Haley and I are having this baby, together. There's nothing you can do to change that."  
  
Lucas was silent for a minute. "I can't deal with this right now." with one more angry look at Nathan, he got up and left.  
  
***  
  
"That jerk!" Lucas yelled, slamming the door to his house.  
  
"Hey." Karen looked up from her sandwich. "What jerk?"  
  
"Nathan."  
  
"So Haley told you."  
  
"You knew?"  
  
"She came to me for advice."  
  
"And you didn't see fit to tell me?"  
  
"It wasn't up to me Lucas. Haley and Nathan were the ones who needed to tell you, when they were ready."  
  
"Who knows when that would have been if I hadn't seen her run to the bathroom during class this morning."  
  
"I see."  
  
"I just don't get why she didn't tell me before. I mean I am her best friend aren't I?"  
  
"Of course you are but Luke, how did you react when they did tell you?"  
  
"What do you think I did? I shoved Nathan against the wall. I'd have punched him but Haley stopped me."  
  
"That's why they didn't tell you sooner. Haley was afraid of how you'd react. Clearly, she had reason to be."  
  
"Why do you keep saying they?"  
  
"Because like it or not Lucas, this isn't just about Haley or just about Nathan. I know you've never been thrilled at the idea of them being together but you're going to have to get used to it. Haley and Nathan will always be connected, whether you like it or not."  
  
"Unless he bails like his dad."  
  
"One, Nathan isn't Dan and he's already made it clear that he wants a role in this. Two, even if he did decide to turn his back on Haley and his child, there would still be a connection, just like Dan and I will always be connected whether either of us likes it."  
  
"I hate this Mom."  
  
"What are you really upset about Luke, that Haley's life ahs suddenly changed or that Nathan's going to be in her life forever?"  
  
"Both. Why him? Why did it have to be him?"  
  
"Because she loves him and he loves her. I know she's like a sister to you Luke and I know having to be around Nathan more and more is hard for you but for her sake the two of you are going to have to learn to really get along, not just pretend to. Haley's going to need her best friend and her boyfriend, now more than ever."  
  
"I guess I can try harder."  
  
"No Lucas, don't try. Do it." 


	4. Chapter Four

Author's Note: Thank you all for your kind words. They are much appreciated. Oh, and I'm looking for a beta if anyone's interested, just email me at mlt@sfu.ca  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned One Tree Hill I wouldn't need to write fan fiction  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Peyton spotted Lucas brooding over his lunch and walked over. "Mind some company?" He looked up, mumbled something she took as an invitation and went on brooding. "I suppose I don't need to ask what you're thinking about."  
  
"Look Peyton," Lucas snapped. "I'm really not in the mood for chit chat right now.  
  
Peyton was unfazed. "That's all right. You can just listen. Haley told me how you reacted."  
  
"And? How did you expect me to react?"  
  
"Exactly like you did but that doesn't mean you should have. Luke, how long have you and Haley been best friends."  
  
"Forever."  
  
"So do you really want to alienate her? Because that's what's going to happen if you keep up this hostility towards Nathan."  
  
"You know, I thought you of all people would understand. You know what a jerk Nathan is."  
  
"I know what a jerk he was to me. You're right Lucas, Nathan didn't treat me very well when we were together. I wasn't that nice to him either a lot of the time. We weren't right for each other; that's what it all boils down to. He and Haley are right for each other and it shows in the way he treats her. Have you ever really watched them together Lucas? He dotes on her. Just look at the way he ran out of class after her. Deep down, you know he loves her and that he treats her well."  
  
"No I don't."  
  
"Yes you do because if you thought he wasn't treating her well, you'd have kicked his ass long ago."  
  
"I tried to but Haley stopped me."  
  
"You'd just received some shocking news. That doesn't count."  
  
"Look Peyton, I already told my mom I'd try to put up with Nathan for Haley's sake but I'm not making any promises. Besides, it's really none of your business."  
  
"Sure it is. I'm Haley's friend and I'm your friend. That makes it my business."  
  
"Is that what we are now Peyton? Friends? It's hard to keep track."  
  
"Hey, you're the one who dated Brooke remember."  
  
"For like a week; are you going to hold that over my head forever?"  
  
"Maybe. It keeps things interesting." She meant it as a joke but noticed he wasn't smiling. "It's going to take time for me to get the image of you and Brooke out of my head. You're going to have to accept that."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
***  
  
Nathan caught Haley staring at the table where Lucas and Peyton were sitting. "Penny for your thoughts?"  
  
"I'm just wondering if things with me and Lucas will ever be the same again. I'm wondering if I've lost my best friend."  
  
"They will and you haven't. The guy's upset and we can't blame him for that but he'll come around."  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"He will. Do you know why?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Because if your friendship didn't matter to him he wouldn't have reacted like he did. He wouldn't have cared that you got pregnant or who the father was. You'll see, once the shock wears off, he'll come around."  
  
"And the two of you will instantly be best friends. Right."  
  
"We'll probably never be best friends but I'm going to do everything I can to imporve our relationship."  
  
"Really? You'd do that?"  
  
"Of course. It matters to you and after all he is going to be this baby's uncle."  
  
"It means a lot to hear you say that."  
  
"It's the truth. So our doctor's appointment is at four right?"  
  
"Yeah. You don't have to miss practice you know. Peyton said she'd drive me."  
  
"Are you kidding? I'm the father, of course I'm going. Some things are more important than basketball. You're the one who taught me that."  
  
Haley smiled, refusing to admit that it was exactly what she'd hoped he'd say. "Okay. Then I'll meet you at me locker after class."  
  
"It's a date." He glanced at his watch. "I have to go tell Coach I won't be at practise."  
  
"What are you going to tell him?"  
  
"That I have a doctor's appointment; it's not exactly a lie. I know you don't want a lot of people to know yet."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
He gave her a quick kiss. "I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye."  
  
That afternoon  
  
Nathan noticed Haley was drumming her fingers on the door handle of his car. They were on their way to the doctor's, about a half hour's drive away. "You nervous?"  
  
"How can you tell?" She chuckled. "Are we there yet?"  
  
"Almost."  
  
"You nervous?"  
  
"Scared to death, but excited too."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
They drove the rest of the way in silence, each engrossed with their own thoughts. "Here we are." He walked around to open the door for her. "You ready?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Nathan approached the reception desk. "Hi, we have an appointment at four. It's under Haley James."  
  
The receptionist looked at the appointment schedule in front of her. "Here you are. Just have a seat over there. It should only be a few minutes."  
  
Haley looked around at the women at various stages of pregnancy. One looked like she could go into labour any minute. Her husband was with her, rubbing her shoulders, trying to make her more comfortable. Haley hoped Nathan would still be around when she was that far along.  
  
"Yes," Nathan said, interrupting her thoughts.  
  
"Yes what?"  
  
"Yes I'm going to be there when you're eight months pregnant. I'll be right where he is, rubbing your back, dealing with your constant mood swings. I'm not going anywhere."  
  
Before she could reply, the receptionist called her name. "Haley James?"  
  
They both stood up. "Yes."  
  
"Right this way." She lead them to the small room. "Just put this gown on and the doctor will be right in."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Less than a minute later, a woman in her mid-thirties opened the door. "Good afternoon, I'm Doctor Sharon Colson."  
  
"I'm Haley James and this is my boyfriend Nathan Scott."  
  
"Pleased to meet you both." She addressed Haley. "How are we feeling?"  
  
"All right."  
  
"Any morning sickness?"  
  
"Yeah. It usually goes away around ten."  
  
"Okay. Can you tell me the date of your last period?"  
  
"February 1st." "Do you smoke? Drink? Are you on any drugs?"  
  
"No, no and no."  
  
"Good. We also don't recommend that pregnant women have anything with caffeine."  
  
"I've already stopped drinking coffee. It's tough but I'll live."  
  
"Good. Have you ever had an ultrasound before?"  
  
"No."  
  
"I'm going to out a jelly-like substance on your stomach then use this wand to get a picture of your uterus. It doesn't hurt. It just feels a little cold."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Haley lied down on the cot. Nathan held her hand and watched the image that came up on the screen. "What is that?"  
  
"That is Haley's uterus. And that," She said, pointing to a small, peanut- shaped dot, "is your baby."  
  
"Oh my God." They said in unison."  
  
"Everything looks good. I'm going to take a few pictures now."  
  
Nathan looked at Haley, kissed her forehead. "That's amazing. I can't believe that's our baby."  
  
"I know. Nathan?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Everything."  
  
The next day  
  
Nathan stood in front of his gym locker and stared at the sonogram picture he held in his hand. Practise would be starting soon but he couldn't stop looking at it. It still amazed him that that little dot was a baby. A baby he and Haley had created.  
  
"Hey, what are you staring at?" Lucas asked, walking up to him. Nathan handed him the picture. "What is this?"  
  
"Sonogram picture from our doctor's appointment yesterday. That," he pointed to the dot, "is the baby."  
  
Lucas was incredulous. "That? But it's so small."  
  
"I know. Isn't it amazing? In less than eight months that dot's going to be a living, breathing person, my son or daughter."  
  
Lucas couldn't help to see the look of pride in Nathan's eyes and his opinion of him softened. "You really mean that don't you?"  
  
"Yeah I do. You know, I knew we were having a baby but this, this really makes it feel real you know. I'm really going to be a father."  
  
"Listen Nathan, I'm sorry for how I acted when I found out. It wasn't fair of me to think you'd be like your father."  
  
"I don't blame you for thinking it."  
  
"You're obviously not Dan, something your mom deserves a lot of credit for. You might not have been my first choice for Haley but you seem to make her happy. So.truce?" He held out his hand.  
  
Nathan took it. "Truce."  
  
"Mess this up and I'll kill you."  
  
"Deal." He heard some of the other team members entering the locker room and quickly put the picture back in his locker. "Listen, the other guys don't know yet and we want to keep it that way for a while longer. Haley's not ready for everyone to know yet."  
  
"Of course. Does Coach know?"  
  
"Nope. I had to lie to get out of practice for the doctor's appointment."  
  
"You have to tell him."  
  
"I know. Soon. I'm going to go. I don't want to answer a lot of questions."  
  
"Fair enough. I'll meet you out there." 


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: Don't own any of 'em  
  
A/N: Thank you all sooooooo much for the reviews. They are much appreciated believe me.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
After the guys had left the locker room, Brooke crept out of her hiding place behind the door. She'd entered the boys' locker room in the first place on a quest to know once and for all which basketball star was the hottest. It was a matter of public interest, what girl didn't want to know. She'd had no idea she'd be treated to such an earful of juicy gossip.  
  
"Well what do you know, Nathan got Ms Goody-Two-Shoes tutor girl preggers." She said to herself. "Tsk tsk Nathan, following in your father's footsteps are we. Now.who should I tell first." After the incident with Peyton getting drugged at a party she'd vowed to change her ways. Then Lucas had dumped her after only a week, saying they were too different and he was still into Peyton. The nerve! No one EVER dumped Brooke. So she was pissed at Lucas for that and she was pissed at Nathan for dating socially un- remarkable Haley when he could have had any girl in school, specifically, any cheerleader. The basketball star always dated a cheerleader; that was just how it was done. So while a month ago she might have at least considered keeping this information to herself, spreading it around like wildfire would handily get back at them both. She stepped out into the hall, spotted some of her fellow cheerleaders milling around and walked over.  
  
"Hey girls! Have I got some news for you."  
  
"What is it Brooke? You finally going to fess up to your nose job?"  
  
"Ha ha, very funny. This is so much better. Gather round ladies. It has just come to my attention that one of our fellow students is pregnant. And you'll never guess who."  
  
They all looked around at each other, trying to see if it was one of them. "You?" She shook her head. "Nope."  
  
"Peyton?"  
  
"Uh uh. Forget it, you'll be at this for hours. The mother-to-be is Haley."  
  
"Haley? Like tutor girl Haley?"  
  
"That's the one. And I don't suppose I need to tell you who the father is."  
  
"Nathan?"  
  
"The one and only. Looks like history repeats itself."  
  
"I don't believe it." One of the girls said. "Where did you hear this?"  
  
"Straight from the horse's mouth."  
  
"Nathan told you? I have a hard time believing that."  
  
"Not exactly. I overheard him and Lucas talking about it."  
  
"Nathan and Lucas?"  
  
"Shush. That part's not important. We have more pressing matters at hand. Now go forth and spread the news."  
  
They dispersed, telling anyone who was still on campus and calling those who weren't. Cell phone are such handy devices for such things. By the following morning, most of Tree Hill High was talking about Nathan and Haley and their upcoming bundle of joy.  
  
When Haley walked into her chem. Class the next morning she couldn't ignore the fact that everyone was looking at her. She sat in her usual seat at the front of the room, painfully aware that her classmates were whispering to each other and glancing at her. She was grateful when her teacher entered the room and called the class to order.  
  
It was worse an hour later when she left class. As she waked down the hall, people were pointing and staring. She didn't need to wonder what had suddenly made her so interesting. Not feeling ready to deal with it, she fled out the nearest door.  
  
Lucas overheard some people talking about it at lunch and went looking for Haley. Instead he found Nathan, who was also looking for her.  
  
"Have you seen Haley?" They asked in unison.  
  
"No." Lucas answered. "People are talking."  
  
"I know." Nathan replied. "I heard a few people discussing it as I left class this morning. I've been looking for Haley but I can't find her."  
  
"Yeah. Do you think she knows?"  
  
"How could she not? When I walked into class every pair of eyes in th room was instantly on me. It had to have been the same for her."  
  
Lucas ran his hand through his hair in a futile attempt to alleviate some of the tension building in his head. "She must be freaking out right about now."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Maybe she left campus."  
  
An idea entered Nathan's head. "I think I know where she might have gone."  
  
"Let's go then."  
  
The got in Nathan's car and drove off in silence. Lucas was puzzled when he realized where they were going. "The docks?"  
  
Nathan nodded. "It's our spot. She goes there when she needs to be alone." He parked the car and spotted Haley sitting in the same place where they'd held their first tutoring session. "There she is."  
  
He got out of the car and stopped Lucas from following him over to her. "No, I'm the one who has to fix this." He handed Lucas his car keys. "Here. Give us about an hour. Go get her some food from the restaurant. She's probably starving.  
  
"Okay," Lucas said reluctantly, taking the keys. "I'll be back in one hour."  
  
"Thanks Lucas." Nathan watched his car drive off. "Never though I'd see the day when I'd let Lucas drive my car."  
  
He approached Haley quietly, laid a hand on her shoulder. She looked up in surprise. "Hey, I thought I might find you here."  
  
"Everyone knows Nathan. They're all talking about it. I couldn't stay there."  
  
"I know. That's why I came looking for you."  
  
"How do they know? The only people who know are you, me, Lucas, our parents and Karen and none of us would have said anything."  
  
"All I can think of is that someone must have overheard me and Lucas talking yesterday."  
  
She looked at him, surprised. "You and Lucas talked?"  
  
"Yeah. We called a truce. We're a long way from being best friends but I don't think you need to worry about us killing each other any more."  
  
That made her smile. "Thanks."  
  
"He came looking for you with me. I sent him to get you some lunch."  
  
"You didn't have to do that."  
  
"I figured you'd be hungry."  
  
"Yea I kind of am. Wait a second, how is Lucas getting food?"  
  
"I lent him my car." "You lent him your car! Wow, you guys really did make progress. You never let anyone drive your car."  
  
"And it's not going to become a habit either but you're worth it." He saw a tear fall down her cheek and brushed it away. "You okay?"  
  
"Not really. I've always been pretty much invisible at school. Before I knew you, most people knew me only as tutor-girl and now they know me as Nathan's girlfriend. I was okay with that. I liked my anonymity. Now everyone's talking about me and they're going to keep talking about me. I don't know if I can handle all the whispers and the stares." She started sobbing.  
  
He pulled her into a hug. "Shh. Yes you can handle it, we can handle it. Hey, we knew this wasn't going to be easy right. This is just one of those things that we're going to have to deal with."  
  
"I guess."  
  
"And they won't keep talking forever. I've been the subject of plenty of gossip, that's the price you pay for popularity, so take it from me, even the hottest gossip gets old eventually. Sure everyone's talking about this now but by next week there will be something new to talk about."  
  
"I don't know."  
  
He kissed her hair. "Trust me. Besides, they can't say anything true that we don't already know and what's false can't hurt us."  
  
"I guess."  
  
"There's Lucas."  
  
"Hey." He pulled Haley into a tight hug. "You okay?"  
  
"Yea. Nathan made me feel a little better."  
  
"Well here's lunch, soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. I figured you'd be hungry too Nathan so I brought some for everyone."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"I can go if you guys want some privacy. It's not that far a walk."  
  
"No, stay." Nathan said.  
  
"All right." For a minute there was silence. Lucas broke it first. "So Hales.do you need me and Nathan to beat anyone up for you? Good, made you smile."  
  
"No, I think I'm good. We can't stop people from talking. I'm going to have to get used to it."  
  
"They're saying some pretty nasty stuff about you Nathan."  
  
"About my dad? I kind of figured that's where everyone's mind would go. I guess I can't really blame them though. I earned my reputation as a jerk; I shouldn't be surprised that people think I'll act like one."  
  
"I'm sorry for jumping to the same conclusion."  
  
"You of all people have the right to jump to it. I sure acted like my father when you joined the team, why wouldn't I act like him now?"  
  
"Let's not talk about it now." He saw Haley hadn't touched her food. "Eat up Hales or I'm going to tell me mom you hate her cooking."  
  
"You wouldn't."  
  
"Want to chance it?"  
  
"No." They sat in silence as she finished eating.  
  
Lucas looked at his watch. "Uh oh."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We're going to be late for practice."  
  
"Shit. Coach is gonna be pissed."  
  
"Then we better go." Haley said.  
  
"Yeah. We'll drop you off at home."  
  
"No, that's way out of your way. You'll be even later. I'll just watch you practice."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yeah. Can't hide forever."  
  
By the time Lucas and Nathan had gotten changed and entered the gym, the other guys were nearly finished warming up. "Lucas! Nathan! You're late!" Whitey yelled.  
  
"Sorry Coach," they mumbled.  
  
"You better be sorry. I want twenty laps around the gym. Go."  
  
As the two boys set off, Whitey noticed that the other team members were all looking up in the stands and talking. "Boys! We practice on the court not in the stands! Now finish warming up."  
  
Several minutes later Lucas and Nathan rejoined the team. For the most part, practice was uneventful, until Coach left to take a phone call.  
  
"See you brought the little woman out to practice with you." Matt Dawson, one of the players, said with a smirk. "You know, I still don't see why you chose her over a cheerleader, though she does have that innocent thing going. She must be good in bed, why else would you be with her. Bet she's easy too.'  
  
"Jerk!" Nathan lunged at Matt, knocking him to the ground. "Don't you dare say shit like that about her or I swear to God I'll kill you!"  
  
He punched Matt in the face, causing his nose to bleed. Matt retaliated, kicking Nathan hard in the stomach, sending him flying.  
  
"Nathan!" Haley screamed. "Stop it."  
  
Nathan picked himself up and resumed punching Matt. Lucas tried to pull the two players apart and Jake stepped in to help but the other guys just stood by and watched. They heard the door open and jumped apart. Coach Whitey walked back in and looked at the two bloody players. "Okay, which one of you's going to tell me what the hell is going on here." 


	6. Chapter Six

A/N I really don't like how this chapter turned out but I'm tired of fighting with it so I'm just going to post it and move on. As always thanks for the reviews.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Coach Whitey looked at his two players and shook his head. Nathan was hunched over, holding his stomach and Matt had a hand over his bloody nose. Haley was at Nathan's side, not sure whether she should be more angry or concerned.  
  
"Okay, practice is over. Lucas, take Nathan to emergency to get checked out. Jake, could you take Matt?"  
  
"Sure Coach."  
  
"The rest of you, go home but you'll all be back here at 5 tomorrow. We're going to have a nice little chat."  
  
The players groaned and glared at Nathan and Matt. "Yes Coach."  
  
"Come on Nathan, let's go." Lucas helped Nathan to his feet.  
  
"I'm coming with you." Haley said.  
  
"I figured you would. Nathan, where are your car keys?"  
  
"My locker. Why?"  
  
"You didn't think I was going to let you get blood all over Keith's truck did you. Uh uh. What's your combination?"  
  
"14-56-24."  
  
Lucas looked at Haley. "Go get his keys. It's locker 15. I'll meet you at the car."  
  
As she walked towards the boys' locker room, her head filled with conflicting emotions. On the one hand she was concerned for Nathan, on the other hand she was furious with him for fighting with that idiot Matt and on the other hand she was touched that he'd stood up for her. She paused before opening the locker room door. "Don't be a wimp Haley. It's just a locker room." She pushed open the door. "Just a locker room."  
  
She was relieved to find the other players had a fled quickly, probably not wanting to be the subject of Coach's wrath. She found Nathan's locker, opened it and grabbed the keys. She was about to close the door when something fell to the ground. She picked it up. "It was a sonogram picture from their doctor's appointment. "He keeps it in his locker." She smiled, a little choked up.  
  
Nathan was leaning against the car when she reached it, still out of breath. "Are you okay." He nodded. "A little.hard.to breathe."  
  
"Oh my God. Well! What are we waiting for. Let's go."  
  
She helped Nathan into the back seat then got in beside him.  
  
"Can't you go any faster?" She asked, taking her frustration out on Lucas. Nathan really didn't look to good.  
  
"Getting us killed isn't going to do us a whole lot of good Hales. We're like a minute away."  
  
"Sorry. He looks pale."  
  
"It'll be okay." He reached back and squeezed her hand. "Promise." He then turned to Nathan. "You hanging in there."  
  
"Yeah." Nathan said weakly. "But I've been better."  
  
"Here we are."  
  
They helped Nathan over to the admit desk. "Can I help you?" The nurse asked.  
  
"He was kicked in the stomach."  
  
She looked at Nathan. "Name please?"  
  
"Nathan Scott."  
  
"Age?"  
  
"17."  
  
"Where were you kicked?"  
  
He placed a hand on his left side, over his ribs. "Here."  
  
"Mmm hmm, experiencing any shortness of breath?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
She printed out a bracelet and put in on his wrist. "Right this way please." She turned to Lucas and Haley. "You'll have to wait out here."  
  
Haley slumped into a chair and rubbed her temples. As massive headache was building. "You okay?" Lucas asked  
  
"Yeah. It's been a crazy day."  
  
"Tell me about it. You know I always figured it would be me and Nathan beating each other up on the gym floor."  
  
"Me too. Thanks for trying to stop it."  
  
"No problem. I'm going to grab something from the vending machine. You want anything?"  
  
"Nah. I'm pretty sure any food that came out of that would make me nauseous and I haven't thrown up once today."  
  
"Wow. Yeah, wouldn't want to wreck that."  
  
When he sat down again, Haley rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
An hour later  
  
"You sure you're all right?" Lucas asked?  
  
"Yeah. I'm just worried about him."  
  
"He'll be okay. Come on, you know Nathan's tough."  
  
"I know. I don't know what I'd do without him."  
  
Lucas took a good look at his best friend. "You really do love him don't you?"  
  
"Yeah. Are you okay with that?"  
  
"Honestly? Not really but does that matter?"  
  
"I don't want there to be any tension between us Luke. I couldn't stand losing you."  
  
"You won't lose me. You and Nathan are something I'm going to have to get used to."  
  
"Does that mean I have to get used to me too?" Nathan said from the doorway.  
  
"Nathan!" Haley stood up. "Are you okay. What did the doctor say?"  
  
"I have some bruised ribs but nothing's broken. I can't play basketball for a few weeks."  
  
"So you're okay."  
  
"Yeah." "Good. So I won't feel guilty for doing this." She smacked him on the side of the head.  
  
"Ow! That hurt."  
  
"It was supposed to. Nathan what were you thinking?"  
  
"I couldn't let him say that stuff about you."  
  
"They were words Nate, just words and yeah they hurt but you know what hurt most?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Seeing you fighting, worrying that you were really hurt. Promise me you won't do that again."  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Come on guys, lets go." Lucas said. "Our parents will be wondering where we are."  
  
"My mom's going to kill me when she finds out about this." Nathan groaned.  
  
"I'll ask her to be lenient."  
  
"So am I taking you home first Haley?" Lucas asked.  
  
"No. I think I'm going to stay with Nathan tonight." She saw Lucas cringe. "Don't look at me like that. I'll call my parents from there if that's okay Nate."  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
Lucas pulled into the Scott driveway. "I'll just walk home from here." He handed Nathan back his keys.  
  
"Are you kidding? It's pitch black out."  
  
"You're on painkillers, you can't drive and you mom's at that basketball moms thing. It's okay."  
  
"It's after 9 o'clock. You really think I'm going to let you walk all the way home in the dark so that you can get mugged or lost and Haley can kill me in the morning. Uh uh. You can sleep on the couch."  
  
"That's not necessary." Lucas politely declined. The Scott residence wasn't exactly at the top of the list of places he wanted to sleep.  
  
"Please Luke." Haley said. "It won't kill you."  
  
Lucas shrugged in agreement. "Fine."  
  
"Okay then. Now can we please go inside. It's freezing out here."  
  
Lucas followed them into the house. It seemed even more huge on the inside. What was he thinking? Spending the night at the home of Deb and Nathan Scott, the former home of Dan Scott. He doubted life could get much weirder.  
  
"Here's the couch. I'll go get you a blanket and a pillow."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Nathan left the room and quickly returned, carrying the promised bedding. "Here." He yawned. "Those pain killers are pretty powerful. I'm going to go upstairs. You coming Haley?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Hey," Lucas said as they headed towards the stairs. "What's your mom going to say when she gets home?"  
  
"We'll explain everything in the morning. Good night Lucas."  
  
"Good night. Night Hales."  
  
"Oh and Lucas."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks for trying to stop me from beating up Matt."  
  
"No problem. You know, I always figured it would be you and me trying to kill each other on the gym floor."  
  
Nathan chuckled. "Yeah, me too." 


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N Thanks for the reviews on chapter six. Reviews mean even more when they're for something you weren't confident with. I greatly appreciate it.  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
"I am so glad that's over." Deb said to herself as she walked in the door. She was growingly increasingly tired of the basketball moms circle and their tedious events. The only one of those women she could stand was Karen. It took all of her strength not to toss her jacket on the floor like Nathan had the habit of doing. But at that moment the closet seemed a long ways away. She decided to compromise and drape it over the couch.  
  
"Ahhh." She yelled when she saw a strange form sleeping in her living room.  
  
"Huh?" Lucas sat up, instantly alert. "Um.. Hi Mrs. Scott." He greeted, at a loss for words.  
  
"Um hello Lucas." She said calmly, waiting for her heart to get back to a normal rate. "Do you think you could explain to me what's going on."  
  
Before he could answer, Nathan came downstairs, rubbing his eyes, closely followed by Haley. "What's going on Mom?"  
  
"Lucas was just going to tell me why he was sleeping on our couch. Nearly gave me a heart attack when I walked in."  
  
"Sorry Mom. I figured you'd come in the side door like you usually do when you come in late."  
  
"It was locked. Okay, sit down all of you and explain."  
  
"I guess I might as well start at the beginning."  
  
"That would be a good idea yes."  
  
"Word got out about me and Haley. Everyone was talking about it today."  
  
"Ohh." She looked over to Haley. "You okay?"  
  
"Getting there."  
  
"Now where were we?"  
  
"Well Hales was pretty upset obviously and left school. Lucas and I were both looking for her and ran into each other instead so we decided to look together. We found her and she and I talked for a while while Lucas got food. Then Haley came with us to practice because we were late and all the guys were talking about it. One of them said some really awful stuff about Haley so I had to hit him."  
  
"Had to." Deb started to say something but decided to leave it alone for the time being.  
  
"We got into a fight. I broke his nose. Lucas tried to stop it. When Coach got back from his phone call he cancelled practice and Luke and Haley took me to emergency."  
  
"Emergency! Are you okay." She was instantly in concerned mom mode.  
  
"Mom I'm fine. Just a few bruised ribs. I'm off basketball for a few weeks but since Coach is probably gonna suspend me from the team that won't matter. Anyway, it was really late when we left the hospital and I couldn't drive Lucas home because I was on pain medication so I told him to stay. The idiot was going to walk all the way home in the dark."  
  
Deb saw Lucas glare at Nathan. "He's right Lucas. One night here won't kill you."  
  
"Well I don't know, you nearly gave me a heart attack too."  
  
"Sorry about that. It's just not everyday I return home to find a strange boy sleeping on my couch."  
  
"Fair enough."  
  
"Well that explains why Lucas was in our living room but I don't suppose you have an excuse for Haley being in your room."  
  
Haley blushed. "Umm."  
  
"Mom." Nathan groaned. "We're having a baby, you're not still really deluding yourself are you?"  
  
It was Deb's turn to blush. "You have a point. All right it's late. Everyone to bed. Lucas, that couch is horribly uncomfortable. I'll show you to the guest room."  
  
"That's really not."  
  
"Shh." She cut him off. "I insist."  
  
***  
  
"Hey Sweetie." Nathan said, kissing Haley on the cheek. "Did you have a good day?"  
  
"Yeah. My class handed in their compositions today. Some of them are so cute."  
  
"Daddy! Daddy!" I dark haired girl came running towards him. He grabbed her in his arms and swung her around.  
  
"And what did you do today?" He asked when he'd set her down again. "We made pine cones!"  
  
"Pine cones? Wow. That sounds pretty cool."  
  
"Uh huh, wanna see?"  
  
"Of course." She brought him a very sparkly pine cone, covered in pink glitter."  
  
"That's very pretty."  
  
"And look Daddy, you can make it snow!" She swung the pine cone over his head, covering him with pink glitter.  
  
"Well look at that. That's pretty neat. My daughter knows how to make it snow."  
  
"I have to go do homework now." She kissed his cheek and trotted off.  
  
"Homework?" He looked at Haley. "I know they grow up fast but she is still in kindergarten right?"  
  
"Yes she's still in kindergarten. She has to draw a picture and write her name on it."  
  
"Gee, I hope she hasn't left it to the last minute. Wouldn't want her to take after her dad."  
  
"I don't know about that. Her dad worked pretty hard in college and now he's coaching high school basketball."  
  
"I just needed to right motivation." He kissed her. "What are you smiling about?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Uh uh, I know that look. You have something to tell me."  
  
She looked away. "No I don't."  
  
"Come on Hales, what is it?"  
  
"We're going to have another baby."  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
He picked her up and spun her around just like he'd done with his daughter.  
  
"Nathan?" She said softly when she was back on solid ground.  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"Are you happy?"  
  
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. "The happiest."  
  
"The happiest." Nathan mumbled, slowly emerging from sleep. At first he was disappointed to the discover that it had just been a dream but when he looked at Haley sleeping next to him, her head resting on his chest he realized that it didn't have to be. That dream, that future, could be his.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled at him. "Morning."  
  
"Good morning."  
  
"How are you ribs?"  
  
"Ugh. The painkillers have definitely worn off."  
  
"Awww. Poor baby. we'll have to get that prescription filled."  
  
"Not yet. Right now, I just want to lie here."  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"8am."  
  
"Weren't you supposed to be at practice at 5am this morning?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Isn't Coach going to be mad."  
  
"Probably."  
  
"And you don't care?"  
  
"Not really. I can't do any practicing anyway and he can't possibly get any angrier with me than he was yesterday. I'll go talk to him after school today, explain everything. It'll be fine."  
  
"I guess. What's that smell?"  
  
"Mmmm. My mom's pancakes. We should get downstairs before Lucas eats them all. You hungry?"  
  
"Starving. This eating for two thing isn't easy."  
  
"Morning Mom. That smells great."  
  
"Good morning. Breakfast is almost ready. Nathan, do you want to go wake Lucas up?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Do you want sausage or bacon Haley?"  
  
"Bacon please."  
  
"Is three enough?"  
  
"Great thanks."  
  
Nathan returned with Lucas as Deb served Haley three pancakes and three slices of bacon. "Hey Mom, save some for the rest of us."  
  
"As if you have ever gone hungry in this house. Take a seat Lucas and help yourself."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"These are great pancakes Deb." Haley gushed.  
  
"Thank you, and at last you called me Deb. See, it's not so bad."  
  
She smiled. "Guess not."  
  
"I guess you guys aren't going to school."  
  
"Guess not." Lucas said. "I didn't realize how late it was."  
  
"Well I think you've all earned a day off. Lucas, did you call your mom to let her know where you were." She saw Lucas hang his head. "Lucas, she'll be worried."  
  
"I know. I was going to but then I didn't know how to tell her I was staying here. I was too tired to explain."  
  
"Well you're going to call her now. As a mom, I know she's worried sick right now." "Yeah."  
  
She handed him the phone. "That would be right now."  
  
He took the phone and dialed. "Hey Mom, it's me, just calling to let you know I spent the night with a friend, hope you weren't too worried."  
  
"Answering machine?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I'll drive you over to the restaurant after breakfast. She'll feel better when she sees for herself that you're alive and well."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"What about Haley? She didn't call." Lucas protested.  
  
"But her parents will know where she is. This is about the last place on Earth your mom would expect to find you."  
  
"So Nathan, Coach is going to kill us." He said, changing the subject.  
  
"Um, yeah. I figured I'd go talk to him this afternoon, let him know what's going on."  
  
"Probably a good idea. You want me to come along?"  
  
"That's okay but thanks."  
  
Both Deb and Haley watched the exchange with big smiles on their faces. The two guys sitting at the table were acting like friends, brothers even. That was something they'd both been waiting a long time to see. 


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I'd hoped to get this chapter up sooner but I'm in the middle of finals. Don't expect updates to be very prompt until after the 12th when I will have three wonderful weeks of freedom.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
"Coach?" Nathan knocked as he entered. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"  
  
"Nathan. Something wrong with your watch? I thought I said five am not pm."  
  
Nathan shrugged. "I know. The doctor at the emergency room put me on some pretty strong pain killers."  
  
"I see. How are you feeling now?"  
  
"Better. I have some bruised ribs."  
  
"And Matt has a broken nose. I'm down two players thanks to the two of you. Matt didn't have an explanation for me, do you?"  
  
"Yeah. That's what I came to talk to you about. Coach, Haley's pregnant."  
  
Whitey coughed, then stared at Nathan in disbelief. "You're serious?"  
  
"Not exactly something I'd joke about. We've known for a few weeks now."  
  
"And the fight is related to that news I take it?"  
  
"Yeah. News starting spreading around school yesterday. You know how high school kids are. Matt said some nasty stuff about Haley and I couldn't let him get away with it. She was upset enough about all the whispers and the stares."  
  
"Matt does tend to run his mouth off. He probably deserved it but in the future I'd like ou to handle your disagreements without the use of fists. Matt's been suspended from the team for the next two games. I'll have to do the same with you."  
  
"Actually that won't be necessary."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You don't need to suspend me because I'm quitting the team."  
  
"Quitting? I must not have heard that right because the Nathan Scott I've known since his freshman year would not just throw away his future like that."  
  
"You heard right. I'm quitting the team. That's just it Coach, I'm not the kid I was when I joined the team my freshman year. I'm not a kid at all anymore. I can't be. I'm going to be a father and that has to come first."  
  
"I understand that Nathan but that doesn't mean you have to quit basketball."  
  
"Yes it does. Look, I'm sorry for doing this to you; I know this isn't the best thing for the team but I have to do what's best for me, Haley and the baby. You got by without me before; you can do it again. Lucas is a lot better than I used to give him credit for."  
  
"Nathan wait-" But it was too late, Nathan was already out the door.  
  
***  
  
The Next Day  
  
"Hey Nathan!" Jake walked up to his team mate. "You got a minute?"  
  
"I was going to see if Haley wanted to get some lunch but yeah sure."  
  
"Good. Come on."  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Just follow me."  
  
Nathan walked with Jake back to Jake's house. "What are we doing here?"  
  
"Just give me a minute." He disappeared into the house and returned a few minutes later, carrying a little girl who was less than a year hold.  
  
"What's going on?" Nathan asked. "Who is this."  
  
"This," Jake said, looking at the sleeping girl. "Is my daughter, Chiara."  
  
Nathan was speechless. "Did you just say your daughter?"  
  
Jake nodded. "Uh huh. She was born last July. Her mom took off shortly afterwards, she didn't want to deal with it. Everyone said I should put her up for adoption but I don't know, I just couldn't do it. The first time I held her in my arms..." He trailed off. "You'll know what I mean."  
  
"So I guess that's why Whitey cuts you so much slack about practice and stuff."  
  
"Yeah. I went to him at the beginning of the year and told him I was quitting the team. I didn't think I could balance fatherhood and basketball. He talked me out of it, said he'd do whatever he could to make it possible for me to be a father to my daughter and stay on the team. So far, it's worked."  
  
"Coach sent you to talk to me didn't he?"  
  
"Yeah, he said you quit the team and wanted me to 'talk some sense into you' as he said it. I'm not saying it's easy, it's not but it's possible. And there's one really good reason to keep playing."  
  
"What's that."  
  
"You have a really good shot at a basketball scholarship Nathan, you know that."  
  
"Yeah so?"  
  
"Well you could use that scholarship now more than ever. It won't be easy paying for college and raising a baby. A basketball scholarship would lift a lot of financial weight off your shoulders."  
  
"I didn't think of that. You have a point Jake but I don't think I can put up with guys like Matt and their stupid comments. And I don't want Haley to have to put up with it either. As long as I'm on the team, people will be watching us. You never had to deal with that. You seem to have kept your secret."  
  
"Yeah. That's the big reason why I've never said anything to anyone. I didn't want to go through what you're going through right now but quitting the team isn't going to shut people up. They're still going to talk."  
  
"Maybe but my always being in the spotlight isn't going to help. Look Jake, I really gotta go. Haley will be pissed if I don't show up."  
  
"Okay but promise me you'll give staying on the team a little more thought."  
  
"Sure. I'll think about it."  
  
***  
  
"Sorry I'm late." Nathan kissed Haley on the cheek, ignoring the snickers of the people watching them.  
  
"You're not that late. Where were you."  
  
"Jake wanted to talk to me. Did you know he has a daughter."  
  
"What? Are you serious?"  
  
"Yeah. He brought me to see her. Coach sent him to talk me out of quitting the team."  
  
"You're quitting the team?! When were you going to tell me this."  
  
"I just did. Please don't lecture me Hales, I've gotten enough of that already."  
  
"Okay, just tell me why. You love basketball."  
  
"Yeah I do but there are more important things in my life right now." He placed a hand gently on her stomach. "You and the baby are my priority right now."  
  
"I don't want you to quit because of me."  
  
"I'm not. I'm quitting for us."  
  
***  
  
"You're going to clean a hole right through that plate you know." Lucas said, walking up to Haley who was washing dishes at the restaurant.  
  
"Oh, hey Luke?"  
  
"What's got you so preoccupied."  
  
"Nothing." She lied.  
  
He looked at her with the piercing gaze that had become his trademark. "You really think you can lie to me."  
  
"No. I guess you're going to find out soon enough anyway. Nathan's quit the team."  
  
"WHAT?! You're joking."  
  
"Afraid not. He told me at lunch."  
  
"Did he say why?"  
  
"Why do you think. He doesn't think he can play basketball and still be there for me and the baby. I love that he wants what's best for us but I hate the idea of him giving up something he loves. Will you please talk to him Luke."  
  
"Me? What makes you think he'll listen to me."  
  
"You've gotten closer recently Luke. Please try." She looked at him imploringly, how could he say no?  
  
"All right all right I'll try but I'm not making any promises."  
  
"Thanks Luke. He's at home."  
  
"You want me to talk to him now?"  
  
"No time like the present."  
  
"Uh huh. You owe me."  
  
"I'll name you godfather." 


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine  
  
All he could think about was I'm too young for this.  
  
Got my whole life ahead.  
  
Hell I'm just a kid myself.  
  
How'm I gonna raise one.  
  
All he could see were his dreams goin' up in smoke.  
  
So much for ditchin' this town and hangin' out on the coast.  
  
Oh well, those plans are long gone.  
  
And he said,  
  
There goes my life.  
  
There goes my future, my everything.  
  
Might as well kiss it all good-bye.  
  
There goes my life.......  
  
A couple years of up all night and a few thousand diapers later.  
  
That mistake he thought he made covers up the refrigerator.  
  
Oh yeah..........he loves that little girl.  
  
Momma's waiting to tuck her in,  
  
As she fumbles up those stairs.  
  
She smiles back at him dragging that teddy bear.  
  
Sleep tight, blue eyes and bouncin' curls.  
  
He smiles.....  
  
There goes my life.  
  
There goes my future, my everything.  
  
I love you, daddy good-night.  
  
There goes my life.  
  
She had that Honda loaded down.  
  
With Abercrombie clothes and 15 pairs of shoes and his American Express.  
  
He checked the oil and slammed the hood, said your good to go.  
  
She hugged them both and headed off to the West Coast.  
  
And he cried,  
  
There goes my life.  
  
There goes my future, my everything.  
  
I love you.  
  
Baby good-bye.  
  
There goes my life.  
  
There goes my life.  
  
Baby good-bye.  
  
song is There goes my life by Kenny Chesney  
  
Lucas had had a number of surprises in his life in recent months, there was being asked to join the varsity basketball team, Haley and Nathan hooking up, Nathan taking amphetamines, Haley getting pregnant but none of them, not even Haley's pregnancy had shocked him as much as walking into his mother's restaurant and seeing Nathan wiping down tables. He shook his head and blinked, to see if he was seeing things. Nope, he wasn't dreaming.  
  
"Nathan, you're about the last person I expected to find bussing tables here."  
  
"So? I need a job, my mom and your mom thought this would be a good place. Uncle Keith offered too but I know nothing about cars and would probably get the place shit down."  
  
"You're working here? In my mother's restaurant."  
  
"Hey, it's my mom's restaurant now too remember. They way I see it is the baby's going to need a lot of stuff, stuff that costs money. I'm sure not going to let Haley pay for it all, or my parents so the only solution is to get a job. And this sure beats slinging burgers, one of the only other options for someone who's never had a job in his life. So go ahead, make some sort of sarcastic comment, you wouldn't be the first."  
  
"Actually, I'm going to say something I never thought I'd say to you. I'm impressed."  
  
Nathan was taken aback. "You are?"  
  
"Yeah. I mean, I'll admit I've given you less credit than just about everyone. I was sure you'd bail and stick Haley with all the diaper changes and three am feedings but so far, you've proven me wrong. This," he motioned to the tables, "can't be easy on your pride."  
  
"Not so much no but I'll get used to it. Besides, I get to spend time with Haley."  
  
"Speaking of Haley, I talked to her today."  
  
"Oh. So I guess she told you."  
  
"About you quitting the team? Yeah. You don't have to you know."  
  
"Yeah I do. I can't spend hours training, going to practice, and finish high school and hold down a job and raise a baby."  
  
"But you haven't tried--"  
  
"And that's not all either. You saw how the guys on the team reacted. Do you really want Haley to have to put up with that?"  
  
"How's quitting the team going to stop people from talking?"  
  
"Staying on the team sure won't. Look Lucas, I've heard this from Whitey, from Jake and from Haley. There's nothing you can say that I haven't already heard."  
  
Lucas shrugged but still wasn't going to give up. "Okay, I'll make you a deal You and I will play a game of one on one, like we did when you didn't want me joining the team. I win, you keep playing, I lose, I'll never mention basketball to you again."  
  
Nathan thought about it for a minute. He knew Lucas well enough by now to know that he was stubborn and wouldn't back down until he agreed. "Fine. Tonight at 8 on the playground. I'm going to kick your butt."  
  
"Hmm, where have I heard that before." Nathan threw a wet towel at him. "Hey!"  
  
"You deserved it. Now go away, I'm working."  
  
"Uh huh. See you at 8."  
  
***  
  
"So did you talk to him?"  
  
"Tried to. You didn't tell me he was working at the restaurant."  
  
"I didn't know until this afternoon. So?"  
  
"He still thinks quitting is the only option."  
  
"And you did nothing to talk him out of it?"  
  
"Calm down Hales. Nathan won't be quitting the team."  
  
"I don't get it."  
  
"We're going to settle it with a game of one on one. I win, he stays on the team, I lose, he's free to quit."  
  
"What makes you so sure you'll win?"  
  
"Easy. Deep down, Nathan doesn't really want to quit the team. He's convinced himself it's the best thing to do but it's not what he wants. His subconscious will make sure he loses." "You almost sound convincing."  
  
"Just have a little faith Hales. Besides, I beat him the last time didn't I?"  
  
"Yeah. You better win this game Luke."  
  
"Don't worry, I intend to."  
  
***  
  
As they had earlier in the year, dozens of Tree Hill High students gathered at the outdoor basketball court only this time, most people were cheering for Lucas. Everyone was aware what was on the line. If Nathan followed through with quitting the team, they could kiss the State Championship goodbye. The begin reason why the team had been unbeatable was the amazing talent of Lucas and Nathan. They needed them both.  
  
"You ready?" Lucas shook Nathan's hand.  
  
"To kick your butt? I was born ready."  
  
Nathan got the first shot and grinned. He loved the rush of hearing the ball go into the basket. 'I'm gonna miss that feeling' he thought but quickly shook it off. Both Nathan and Lucas played hard, neither was used to giving half an effort. By the end the score was tied. Lucas did a perfect lay-up and watched the ball go, swoosh, into the net. He pumped his fist in the air and the crowd cheered.  
  
"That's it buddy. I win. You're still a Raven."  
  
Nathan shrugged and hid a smile, he admitted to himself that he wasn't very disappointed about losing. Haley came over and gave him an enthusiastic kiss.  
  
"You were cheering against me weren't you?"  
  
"Of course I was. You need basketball Nathan and I don't want you to give it up because of me."  
  
"A deal's a deal but I don't know how we're going to do this."  
  
"It's like everything else, we'll figure it out as we go. And trust me Nathan, I'll be the first to tell you if you start neglecting your family."  
  
"Say that again?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What you just said."  
  
"Your family."  
  
He smiled. "We are aren't we?"  
  
She squeezed her hand. "That's right Scott, you're stuck with both of us."  
  
He squeezed back. "It's not such a bad thing to be." 


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten  
  
A/N This chapter jumps ahead in time. I hadn't meant for this chapter to be so long. Hope you like it.  
  
Haley's first trimester passed without much incident. Nathan and Lucas had continued to mend fences, first for Haley's sake, then for their own. Somewhere between sarcastic remarks they realized they could be good for each other. Nathan had rejoined the team as promised and he and his older brother had lead the team to a state championship and the first undefeated season in Ravens history. Nathan was almost disappointed that he couldn't rub that in his dad's face. Dan was living on the other side of town but since he was persona non gratis, he steered clear of Nathan, Lucas and their moms. It was June and the school year was starting wind down. Everyone was looking forward to a few months of vacation.  
  
"Ugh!" Haley growled, looking at her profile in the mirror. She was now four months along starting to show more and more. "I'm fat."  
  
"You are not." Peyton said, coming into the washroom.  
  
"Oh yeah? Then how come I couldn't button my jeans this morning? I had to borrow an old pair of my mom's."  
  
"Because you're having a baby. This is supposed to happen. What are you doing after school?"  
  
"Meeting Nathan for a tutoring session."  
  
Peyton smirked. "So is that what you kids are calling it these days."  
  
Haley smacked Peyton in the arm. "Shut up, we do study. Why did you ask?"  
  
"After tutoring why don't you and I go shopping for soem maternity clothes; we'll find you some really cool stuff."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, it'll be fun."  
  
"Yeah, sure okay."  
  
***  
  
Nathan and Haley are at the docks, studying the big history final  
  
"Okay Nathan, what were Woodrow Wilson's 14 points?"  
  
"Open covenants of peace, absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, the removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers..."  
  
Haley couldn't hide her surprise. "What? Am I wrong?"  
  
"No, you're exactly right. It's just, well, your math and English grades have gone way up, even your science grades have shown great improvement but history has remained a struggle for you, until now."  
  
"I guess I just finally figured out what you meant."  
  
"What I meant?"  
  
"About history and how if we don't learn it we're doomed to repeat it. I'm living that right now."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Everywhere I turn, I see people who expect history to repeat itself. They don't say it anymore but I know they're thinking it. They all think I'm going to do what my father did, leave you and the baby like he left Karen and Lucas. Even you think it sometimes."  
  
"That's not true Nathan."  
  
"Yes it is. I'm not upset. I don't blame you. It's not like I haven't let you down before, broken promises to you before. Why should you believe me now?"  
  
"Nate I--"  
  
"No." He silenced her by pressing a finger to her lips. "Let me finish. At first, it frustrated me that I could see the doubt in your eyes sometimes, like whether you knew it or not you were wondering when I was going to bail. Then I got to thinking about the history thing and the more I thought about it, the more I saw how it applies to me. The way I see it, this, you, me, the baby was meant to happen. All my life people have been telling me how much I'm like my father. Sometimes it's meant as a compliment like when they compare our basketball skills but often it's not a compliment at all like when people compare how I treated Lucas with how he did. It's totally founded but it hurts just the same. Right now, people expect me to follow in his footsteps once again. This is my chance to prove them wrong, prove that history won't repeat itself with me because I have learned from my father's mistakes. Mostly, I want to prove it to myself, I want to know once and for all that I am someone other than Dan Scott's son, that I can rise above him.  
  
Haley just stared at him, at a loss for words. She knew better than most that there was more to Nathan than basketball and drunken parties but she had to admit he was right, a part of her did expect him to leave. She hadn't expected him to call her on it.  
  
"Nathan, I don't know what to say."  
  
"Just say that you believe me. I don't care what anyone else thinks, just you."  
  
"I believe you and I think that covers everything for today. You'll ace that history test."  
  
"Keep your fingers crossed. You busy tonight? I thought we could catch a movie or something."  
  
"Actually I have plans. Peyton and I are going shopping."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
"Don't look so dejected Nathan. If I remember correctly, you never used to have trouble getting through a Friday night without me."  
  
"That's before I knew what I was missing."  
  
"You'll find a way to get by."  
  
"I guess I'll live."  
  
"Can you give me a ride to Peyton's? I told her I'd meet her there."  
  
"Yeah sure."  
  
***  
  
Peyton's  
  
"You ready to go?" Peyton asked, coming down the stairs.  
  
"Yeah. Let's get this over with."  
  
"Haley, you're not getting a root canal, it's just shopping. You might enjoy it."  
  
"Uh huh." Haley didn't sound convinced.  
  
***  
  
At the Nearest Mall  
  
"What about this?" Peyton held up a sun dress that was cut low in the neck. "Isn't that a little revealing?"  
  
"Not at all. Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you have to cover up every square inch of skin. Come on, at least try it on."  
  
"All right all right," Haley relented and stepped into the dressing room.  
  
When she stepped out again Peyton grinned. "That's perfect. Nathan will go crazy."  
  
"You sure it isn't a little too...sexy?"  
  
"Absolutely not. Haley, nothing against your past fashion choices but maybe it's time you had a change of pace. You can't pull off the virginal innocence thing any more anyway so you might as well enjoy it."  
  
"You really think Nathan will like it?"  
  
"Are you kidding? He'll go nuts."  
  
"Yeah right."  
  
"Oh come on Haley, Nathan worships you. The guys gets puppy dog eyes every time he looks at you. It's pathetic really. I wish a guy would look at me like that."  
  
Haley saw an opportunity and went for it. "A guy does look at you like that. Lucas remember? He's still crazy about you. You have to see that."  
  
Peyton just sighed.  
  
"So tell me again why the two of you aren't together?"  
  
"It's complicated."  
  
"Is it? Let me see, he likes you, you like him. Nope, seems simple to me."  
  
"You know it's not that easy. He was with Brooke."  
  
"So? Nathan was with you. Lucas has a past, big deal, so do you."  
  
"But my past isn't with his former best friend."  
  
"No, it's with his current little brother. Look Peyton, if you still want Lucas then please for the sake of my sanity go after him He's not going to wait forever. You learned that once the hard way. Do you want to learn it again?"  
  
"No but--"  
  
"No buts. Just give it a chance. You might be surprised."  
  
"Or I might get hurt."  
  
"If there's one thing I've learned this past year it's that sometimes it's worth the risk." She paused.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I just never figured I, Haley James, would be giving you, Peyton Sawyer, love advice."  
  
"Been a weird year huh? So, you buying the dress or not?"  
  
"Yeah. Just let me change back into my own clothes."  
  
When she returned, Peyton was browsing through more racks of clothes. "You know, some of this stuff is pretty cute. It's almost be worth getting pregnant to get to wear it."  
  
"Says someone who's never had morning sickness."  
  
***  
  
Nathan stood up from his desk again and walked around the room, bored and restless. In the past he'd have called Tim or one of the other guys from the team but things had never really been the same since they'd all found out about Haley's pregnancy. He jsut didn't fit in with that crowd any more and truth be told, he didn't want to.  
  
On a whim, he picked up the phone and called Lucas' house.  
  
"Hello?" Came Karen's voice on the other end.  
  
"Hello Karen, is Lucas in?"  
  
"Um yeah, he's in his room. I'll go get him."  
  
A few minutes later, Lucas picked up the phone. "Hello."  
  
"Lucas, it's Nathan."  
  
Lucas was more than a little surprised. The two were closer now than before but hadn't reached the point where they were calling each other out of the blue. "What is it Nathan? Is soemthing wrong with Haley?"  
  
"No, she's shopping with Peyton. That's why I'm calling actually. I'm bored to tears and I thought maybe you'd like to do something."  
  
"Me? What about Tim and the other guys?"  
  
"Come on man, you know I hardly talk to them outside of practice these days. They're all about cruising for girls and flirting. That's really not my scene any more."  
  
"It better not be. What did you have in mind."  
  
"I thought we'd get a pizza then go from there."  
  
"Sure, sounds good."  
  
"Great. I'll swing by and pick you up. See you in a few."  
  
***  
  
"So Haley and Peyton are shopping huh?"  
  
"Yeah, not sure what I think about that."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Well Peyton's not exactly my biggest fan, rightfully so."  
  
"You think she'll make Haley hate you?"  
  
"It crossed my mind."  
  
"Nathan, I couldn't make Haley hate you, believe me I tried, and I'm her best friend. For some reason that I still don't understand, she thinks you pass for a human being."  
  
"Gee thanks. So, what about you and Peyton."  
  
"There is no me and Peyton and I don't think there's going to be."  
  
"I thought she just needed time to get past the whole you and Brooke thing."  
  
"There was no me and Brooke, it was a week, one lousy week and how long am I supposed to wait for Peyton to decide she wants to be with me?"  
  
"Do you want her man?"  
  
"More than anything." "Then stop waiting. Go after her."  
  
"And if she turns me down...again."  
  
"Then at least you tried. If Haley could get past all the crap I've pulled, Peyton should be able to get past your little fling with Brooke."  
  
"I'm not so sure."  
  
"Seriously Lucas, what have you got to lose." 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11  
  
Nathan noticed Haley was picking absently at her food as they sat together during lunch. "Haley, honey, is something wrong? Are you okay?" He asked, his voice a little panicked.  
  
"What? Oh, no, I'm fine."  
  
"Liar. You've been pushing your food around your plate for the last ten minutes."  
  
"Really, I'm fine. Just distracted."  
  
"By anything in particular? Come on Hales, if something's bothering you, talk to me about it."  
  
"Well, you know I went shopping with Peyton the other night."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So we got to talking about stuff, you, me and it switched to her and Lucas. It's clear she still really likes him but she's stubborn and scared."  
  
"Sounds familiar." He winked at her.  
  
"So now I'm frustrated. Luke's still crazy about her and she wants him but they're still not together."  
  
"Yeah. It kind of reminds me of us."  
  
"Really? How so?"  
  
"Well it seems to be that we nearly didn't get it together. First there was Brooke's little game with your note shortly followed by my stupidity on our first date. Not to mention the Lucas factor. And we were both scared and stubborn. You were afraid of trusting me and determined to dislike me in the beginning. I was afraid of letting anyone under my skin and determined to lash out at Luke at every opportunity. Can't help but think it could have turned out a lot differently."  
  
"Exactly. What if it happens to them? What if they're meant to be together but never know it because they're too stubborn to open their eyes?"  
  
"Yeah. You know, I talked to Luke the other night."  
  
"Did I hear that right?"  
  
"Yeah. You know Luke and I have made great progress these last few months. You were out with Peyton and I was bored so I called him. We had pizza."  
  
"And talked."  
  
"And by talking you mean no nasty comments, no sarcasm and no fighting? Just civilized conversation?"  
  
"Well as civilized as any conversation between two guys can be but yeah."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Are you crying?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then what do you call this?" He wiped a tear away with his finger.  
  
"So I'm crying. This is a big deal."  
  
"Hales, it was just pizza."  
  
"No it wasn't. Do you have any idea how long I've waited for my boyfriend and best friend to get along? And it's even more important now." She laid a hand on her stomach and he laid his over it.  
  
"I do know and I'm glad it makes you happy."  
  
"So you guys talked about Peyton?"  
  
"Yeah. I basically just told him that if he wants Peyton he has to go after her instead of waiting around and moping. I told him patience is a virtue in fishing not love."  
  
Haley laughed. "That was very philosophical of you."  
  
"Yeah, well I have my moments."  
  
"What do you think?"  
  
"About Luke and Peyton? He's obviously nuts about her. I haven't spent a lot of time with Peyton since our break up but I know she liked him when we were still together and I doubt it's changed."  
  
"Are you okay with that. I mean you and Peyton..."  
  
"Are broken up. I'm with you. I'm the father the child you're carrying remember? If anything, Peyton getting together with Lucas would make me less jealous?"  
  
"Explain."  
  
"Well I know you and Luke are just friends, I get that really but sometimes I wonder why you two were never more than friends. He'd have to be crazy not to want to. I'd kind of like knowing he has someone other than my girlfriend to lean on."  
  
"I guess that makes sense, sort of. So what do we do about it? We can't just sit around and wait for them to get a clue."  
  
"No kidding. Knowing Lucas we could be old and grey first."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Actually, I might have an idea."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"You ask Peyton to eat with you at the restaurant, say you want to have a girls' night or something. Then tell Luke you want the three of us to have dinner, you know so him and I can bond and stuff. They show up, we leave early and they get a chance to talk."  
  
"That's so cliched but it might actually work. Think we can get your mom and Karen to close the restaurant for a night. I don't think either of them would be comfortable if there were a bunch of people around."  
  
"Good point. I'll work on my mom. You work on Karen but make sure she knows not to say anything to Luke."  
  
"Okay." The bell rang. "We should get to class."  
  
"Yeah." They got up and gathered their books. Nathan took Haley's hand in his and they began walking to their English class. It still sort of surprised Haley how well their hands seemed to fit together but the gesture had come to feel totally natural.  
  
***  
  
Luke, Meet me and Nathan at the restaurant for dinner at six. It's time for you guys to bond. Hales  
  
She slipped the note to Lucas during English class as Nathan watched. He read it, shot her a look of surprise then wrote a reply.  
  
You me and Nathan? Is that really a good idea?  
  
Luke  
  
Of course it's a good idea. Come on Luke, this is really important to me.  
  
Hales.  
  
Fine. But if we fight it is so not my fault.  
  
Luke  
  
Hales looked at Nathan and mouthed "Success." Next step Peyton.  
  
She cornered Peyton on her way out of class.  
  
"So, what are you up to tonight?"  
  
"I don't know, sitting around probably."  
  
"Good because I want to have a girls' night."  
  
"A girls' night."  
  
"Yeah, as in no guys. Don't you and Brooke ever just hang out."  
  
"Brooke? To Brooke if there are no guys it can't possibly be fun."  
  
Haley laughed. "True. So what do you say?"  
  
"I don't think so. I kinda just want to stay home tonight."  
  
"Please Peyton. Nathan and Luke are doing some kind of bonding thing and since besides you they pretty much make up my entire social circle, I'm depending on you to keep me from dying of boredom. Come on please. I let you drag me shopping didn't I."  
  
"All right fine."  
  
"Great. Meet me at the restaurant, I work until six. We'll eat then after that it's up to you."  
  
***  
  
Haley drummed on the table nervously. Earlier in the day this had seemed like a brilliant idea but now she was thinking about all the ways it good go wrong. Nathan watched her, amused. She was so cute when she was nervous. "Why are you so wound up Haley? You weren't this nervous on our first date."  
  
"I was to busy wondering what Brooke would do next to be nervous. What if this is a disaster and they hate us Nate?"  
  
"It won't be and they don't. It's like you said, they just need a push. Once they figure that out they'll be eternally grateful."  
  
"I hope so."  
  
Lucas walked in first and spotted Haley and Nathan sitting at a table in the corner. The only other person around was Deb."  
  
"Hey. Where are all the customers?"  
  
"Your mom decided to close early. She and Uncle Keith have a date." Nathan answered.  
  
"My mom and Keith? That's new."  
  
"Not really. You were just too busy worrying about me and Hales to notice. I'm glad you came." Nathan said sincerely.  
  
"Thanks. So Hales, what exactly did you have in mind?"  
  
"Nothing specific, just the usual Haley wants the two most important men in her life to like each other thing."  
  
"Oh." The door opened and Lucas looked up. When he saw Peyton walk in he frowned. "What is she doing here?"  
  
When Peyton saw Lucas sitting with Nathan and Haley she had the same reaction. "I thought this was girls' night Haley. I doubt Nathan would appreciate you calling him a girl."  
  
"I lied. Sorry guys but it's the only way we could think of to get you two together. You need to talk, if for no other reason than to be friends again. Come on Luke, if you can make nice with Nathan for me you can do this."  
  
"Hales I know your heart was in the right place but--"  
  
"No buts. Hales and I are going to leave you guys to talk." Nathan lit a candle at the center of the table and dimmed the lights. "Have fun." 


	12. Chapter Twelve

A/N No Naley love in this chapter sorry, the much needed Lucas/Peyton talk takes place. Naley will return in full force the next chapter I promise.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
"So..." Lucas said awkwardly, trying to break the terrible silence that had loomed over him and Peyton as soon as Haley and Nathan had left.  
  
"So..." Was her only reply.  
  
"Do you want to kill them or should I?"  
  
"Why don't we both do it? It'll be more fun that way."  
  
"True, true. I can't believe they did this. I mean, I'd expect it from Hales, ever since she and Nathan got together she's been on a find Lucas a stable relationship mission but..."  
  
"You're surprised Nathan went a long with it."  
  
"Well yeah. I mean I know we haven't been at each other's throats in a while but I can't see him caring about my love life, certainly not yours."  
  
"Perhaps. But the man would do anything for Haley. You have to see that. He'd dig a hole through the Earth if he thought she wanted him to."  
  
Lucas grimaced, he still wasn't totally used to the idea of his best friend and his half-brother together.  
  
"Don't make that face Luke. You know it's the truth."  
  
"Yeah I know but it still seems weird to me you know. They're so different."  
  
"But opposites attract right. Beside, I don't think they're so different."  
  
"How do you figure?"  
  
"Well it seems to me that they both try hard to live up to the images people have of them. With Nathan it's the basketball star image, with Haley it's the smart, sweet tutor but underneath there's a lot more to both of them and I think they're trying just as hard to make the world see that. They saw it in each other first."  
  
"I know there's more to Haley than being smart."  
  
"Yeah but did you ever see her as something other than the best friend you've known since grade school, ever seen her as a woman?"  
  
Lucas remained silent.  
  
"I didn't think so. Nathan does see her that way. He doesn't see her as pretty in an innocent, childish sort of way like you do. He sees her as beautiful, sexy and he makes her feel it. You may not like to think about it but she needs someone to make her feel like that, to see her like that."  
  
"And look where it got her."  
  
"Pregnant. Yeah and they seem to be handling that better than you are. I saw how you averted your eyes from Haley's belly. You still don't want to admit that it's real. Face it Lucas, Haley isn't your little Haley anymore. That Haley doesn't exist anymore. She's with Nathan. She's happy, they're happy. He dotes on her. When will you stop pretending to be happy for them and just be it."  
  
"Maybe I can't. Maybe, unlike everyone else I'm trying to look at this from a realistic perspective. I'm sure he's made all kinds of promises to her, probably a lot like the promises Dan made to my mom and he still has plenty of time to break them."  
  
"You still think Nathan's going to walk away."  
  
"Of course he is. He's just like Dan and sooner or later he's going to prove it once again."  
  
"Are you saying that because you really believe it or because you hope Nathan walks out on her?"  
  
"What? You think I'd wish pain on my best friend."  
  
"I don't know Luke but it seems to me that you don't want to be wrong about Nathan and I think I know why."  
  
"Oh do you."  
  
"It's always been you and Haley, since you were kids. You leaned on each other, depended on each other. Even though your relationship was never romantic, without realizing it you thought of her as yours, yours to turn to when Nathan pissed you off, yours to lean on after a bad day and other stuff that you would otherwise have turned to a significant other for. You liked that. Then she found Nathan and suddenly you're not the one she goes to for that stuff. She cries on Nathan's shoulder when she has a bad day at work or is fighting with her mom. She celebrates with him when things are going well and she confides with him. She's not yours anymore and that bothers you. You want Nathan to bail on her because then you'd your old role back in her life. Well get over it. You know, maybe in the beginning Nathan stuck around because he wanted to do the right thing and because he truly loves Haley but now it's more than that. Now he's also sticking around because he loves that baby. He carries that sonogram picture around with him everywhere. The other day I saw him looking at a baby-name website. Get it through your head Lucas, Nathan doesn't want to walk out on Haley and he's not going to."  
  
"Did you rehearse that."  
  
"No. I've found it's more effective to improvise. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"  
  
"Maybe you're right. It does bug me that Haley turns to him when she used to turn to me and you know what bugs me even more?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"He's always going to have a connection to her that I'll never have. Even if they do break up, that baby's going to tie them together."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So enough about Nathan and Haley. I don't think they set this all up so that we could talk about them."  
  
Peyton smiled. "No probably not. What do you want to talk about then?"  
  
"Us."  
  
"Lucas..."  
  
"Just listen okay. I know you're upset about me and Brooke but I didn't do anything wrong. You and I weren't together and you gave me the impression that you didn't want us to be. I'm sorry that I hurt you but it's not my fault that I can't read your mind or that you're the queen of mixed signals. I want to be with you. I always have but I'm not willing to put my life on hold while you figure things out."  
  
"I never told you to put your life on hold."  
  
"No? Then why did you get so upset when I hooked up with Brooke?" She remained silent. "See. You know I'm right."  
  
"That's not the point Lucas."  
  
"No, the point is that we like each other, a lot I think and it's time we set aside our trademark angst and drama and did something about it."  
  
"What did you have in mind."  
  
He moved in and kissed her. "Something along those lines."  
  
"Mmmm. Do it again." He obliged.  
  
When they pulled apart again he spoke seriously. "Peyton, I don't want to be your friend. I don't want to be a one night stand. I want to be your boyfriend so if you don't want that tell me now and I won't waste any more of our time."  
  
"I want that too Luke but..." She trailed off.  
  
"But what?"  
  
"I'm no good at relationships. With Nathan it was all drama and I'm equally to blame. I'm afraid I'll only hurt you."  
  
"I'm a big boy Peyton. If it comes to that, I can handle it. Besides, I doubt you could hurt me anymore than you did the night we almost slept together and you ran off."  
  
"Oh. Luke I'm..."  
  
"Don't apologize. You know, I've never been in a serious relationship."  
  
"You haven't?"  
  
"Nope. The only girl I've ever been close to is Haley and that was never about romance. So we'll learn together."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Now let's go find Nathan and Haley so we can thank them."  
  
"Yeah, thank them, then kill them." 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen  
  
Nathan and Haley were making out at the docks. Things were getting heated when she pulled away.  
  
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."  
  
Nathan looked at her, a little annoyed. "What? Making out? No that was definitely a good idea." He leans in again but she pulls back.  
  
"Not this, Luke and Peyton. What if they're screaming at each other right now. They'll hate us."  
  
"They won't hate us and it was a good idea, a great idea and it will work but let's not think about them right now. It feels like it's been ages since we've been alone together." He kisses her again, this time she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer.  
  
"There they are!" They jump apart and see Lucas and Peyton walking up to them.  
  
"See Peyton, I told you they'd be here. So you two, what do you have to say for yourselves."  
  
"Umm..." Haley stuttered. "We saw that you guys wanted each other and figured it was about time someone did something about it. Neither of you was going to."  
  
"So you set us up."  
  
"Yeah." Nathan admitted and glanced at Lucas and Peyton's joined hands. "And from the looks of things it worked. You should be thanking us."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Come on Luke." Haley pleaded. "We just wanted you guys to be happy. Please don't be mad."  
  
"I'm not mad Hales. I just don't think you have any business messing with my love life. Nathan sure doesn't." He shot a nasty look at his little brother, all evidence of their early truce absent from his face.  
  
"Well that's funny isn't it since you seem to think you have business messing with mine." She ignored Luke's surprised look and continued. "Don't give me that look. I've lost track of the number of times you've warned me off Nathan or asked questions about us that had nothing to do with you so if you stay out of my love life, I'll stay out of yours."  
  
"Hales, I didn't mean it like that." Lucas put a hand on her shoulder but she shrugged it off.  
  
"Yeah well I did mean it. I am so sick of you thinking you know what's best for me when you don't. It's my life and I'm going to live it. If you don't like it, your welcome to get out of it."  
  
She took off running. Nathan turned to Lucas and said. "Nice one. And I'm a jerk." Then he took off after Haley.  
  
"Hales! Hales! Wait up!" He caught up to her and spun her around to face him. She collapsed against his chest and started crying. "Hey, hey it's okay. It's okay." He soothed, stroking her hair. After a few minutes she pulled away. "So what was that all about?" He asked gently.  
  
She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I've had a lot of stuff building up. I know you've been making an effort to get along with Luke. I can see that but I get the feeling that the effort isn't as genuine on his part. Sometimes it seems like he's trying but then he'll say something or do something or just look at you a certain way and I'm sure that all he'll ever see when he looks at you is Dan."  
  
"I don't blame him. He has no reason to believe I'm anything other than a younger version of my father. I've done enough to prove that haven't I? Don't be mad at him on my account."  
  
"I'm not mad on your account, at least not only on your account. Lucas has to learn to accept that he is not the only person in my life and he has to trust me to make my own decisions. One of those decisions was you and if he can't accept that, he can't accept me."  
  
"You don't really mean what you said back there about him getting out of your life did you?"  
  
She remained silent.  
  
"Did you?"  
  
"Yes I meant it. I'm so sick and tired of his constantly changing attitude towards you. If he doesn't like that I'm with you, that this baby his yours, he can leave us alone."  
  
She started sobbing and he pulled her to him. "Come on, I'll take you home."  
  
"No. My brother and his wife are visiting with their kids, the place is a circus. Can I go home with you?"  
  
"My mom's home."  
  
"So? Come on Nathan, it's not like she doesn't know we've slept together. The proof his pretty obvious." She pointed to her stomach.  
  
"Yeah. Okay come one."  
  
He took her hand and they walked back towards his car. On the ride home he saw that while she was trying to hide it, she was really upset. It was also clear that she didn't want to talk about Lucas, at least not yet.  
  
"Go on upstairs to my room. I'm going to go talk to my mom."  
  
"Okay."  
  
He kissed her cheek. "I'll be right up."  
  
"Mom?" He knocked on the door to his Deb's study.  
  
"Yeah Sweetie?"  
  
"Haley's over."  
  
"Nathan, I know the situation with you and Haley is a little different but..."  
  
"She had a rough night. She and Lucas had a big fight. She doesn't want to be surrounded by her family right now. Mom, I'm not asking you to let her move in here but she needs me tonight." He looked at her with the same eyes he used to use when he was a little boy. She was just as helpless now as she had been then.  
  
"All right but tell Haley she has to call her parents and let them know she won't be coming home."  
  
"Okay. Thanks Mom."  
  
When he got to his room, Haley was on his bed, hugging her knees to her chest. He thought she looked beautiful with her hair falling over her eyes and wished he could do something to erase the sadness from her face  
  
"My mom says it's okay but she wants you to call your parents first."  
  
"I don't want to talk to my parents right now. They'll assume I'm staying at here."  
  
"That won't bother them?"  
  
"Probably but they've pretty much accepted that you are a reality in my life. That's more than I can say for some people." Her voice got sad. "You sure you don't want to talk about tonight?"  
  
"Yeah I'm sure. I just want to fall asleep in your arms and pretend for just one night that everything's okay. Please."  
  
"Sure." He took off his shoes and jacket then tossed her a tshirt. Here, sleep in that. It'll be more comfortable than those jeans."  
  
"Thanks." She got changed, a little surprised that she didn't feel awkward undressing in front of Nathan. She loved how comfortable they were with each other now.  
  
He put on a pair of boxers and a t shirt then got into bed beside her. He put his arms around her then covered them both with a blanket. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.  
  
Nathan, on the other hand, wasn't tired. He watched Haley as she slept, hypnotized by the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He rubbed circles over her stomach with his hand. It was still hard to believe sometimes that there was a baby inside of her, a baby they had created. He could spend all night watching her sleep.  
  
The events of that evening kept repeating in his mind. Had she really told Lucas to get out of her life/ He thought he'd be happy about that, after all, he'd never liked the close friendship between the two of them but he wasn't. He knew Haley was hurting over the fractured friendship and he had to try and help.  
  
He got out of bed and dialed his half brother's number. Lucas' groggy voice answered on the third ring. "Hello?"  
  
"Lucas? It's me Nathan?"  
  
"Nathan? What the heck are you doing calling me at four in the morning?"  
  
"I need to talk to you."  
  
"So, talk."  
  
"No, not over the phone. Meet me at the docks in half an hour."  
  
"What? Are you crazy?''  
  
"No. Just be there." Without waiting for any further objection, he hung up. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen

A/N Well I should be studying for my French-Canadian literature final but a little procrastination never hurt anyone. And one can only spend so many hours in a row analysing plots and themes and character developments.  
  
Chapter Fourteen  
  
Precisely half an hour later Nathan pulled up to the docks. Lucas was already there, scowling.  
  
"Gee, you really aren't a morning person are you."  
  
"It's not even five in the morning. I've slept all of four hours of the recommended eight. I'm tired. So you better say whatever was so important that it couldn't wait until a more decent hour. Like two in the afternoon."  
  
"Aren't we cheerful this morning."  
  
"Really not in the mood."  
  
"Okay okay. I'm pretty sure you already know why I wanted you to meet me here."  
  
"Something about Haley. Look Nathan, I'm really not in the talking mood."  
  
"That's fine because I'm going to talk and you're going to listen. So sit."  
  
Normally, Lucas would have ignored his half-brother's request on principle but the look in Nathan's eyes suggested that he wasn't about to play games. Whatever this was about, it was serious. He sat down on a bench. "Okay, talk. I'm listening. I don't want to be but I'm listening."  
  
"Good. And no interrupting. Look, I know you and Haley go back a long time. I admit that in the beginning I saw your close friendship as an opportunity. I confess I had every intention of using her to get to you."  
  
"Why you." Lucas was ready to deck Nathan.  
  
"I said no interrupting. That's why. Hopefully if you let me say everything I have to say as I want to say it you won't want to kill me at the end."  
  
"Fine." Lucas grumbled.  
  
"Okay. Yes, when I first asked Haley to tutor me my motives were less than honourable and yes I was completely self-serving but I had no idea what I was getting into. Come on you know Haley. You know how stubborn and persistent she is. She managed to get underneath my Mr Popular Basketball Star exterior, something no one's ever done. She made me realize what a jerk I was being to you and to her. When she ran off after Brooke made her think I'd passed her note around to all the guys, it hit me that I wanted to make things right with her, not so I could hurt you but so I could get to know her. It occurred to me that normally I wouldn't have cared if a girl ran off like she did but I cared then. See that's what Haley's done for me. She's made me see the error of my ways so to speak and she's made me want to change. I like to think I have. See Lucas, I know that despite the basketball games we've played and the few civilized conversations we've had that below the surface, you still think of me as the same Nathan who pushed you in the mud and made your life miserable. I want you to know I don't blame you. You of all people have every reason to believe I'm a jerk and I know that you're going to take the longest to convince but I'm working on it.  
  
You know, in the beginning I wanted to work things out with you because Haley wanted it so much. She kept telling me how much it would mean for her to see her best friend and her boyfriend getting along. And then it was for the baby's sake because I don't want to have to explain to my child why I don't get along with his or her uncle. I don't want him or her to look at me and you and see what I've always seen looking at Dad and Uncle Keith. But at some point, I'm not even sure when honestly, it stopped being about everyone else and started being about me and me wanting to have a relationship with my brother. I want to regain what was taken from us Luke. I want to know you, like I would have if we'd grown up as brother's. I want to know I can turn to you when I need to talk or just let loose and that you can turn to me. I want us to really be brothers."  
  
"Nathan I--"  
  
Nathan cut him off again. "Did I say I was done? I know you think I'm going to walk out on Haley. I guess that's fair given what Dad did to your mom but believe it or not I am not Dan Scott. I share some of his genes, his name and his gift for basketball. So do you and that doesn't mean you'd walk out on your pregnant girlfriend. You don't like my relationship with Haley. That's your call but the status quo isn't changing any time soon. I'm not the one asking her to make a choice. You are and that choice was pretty clear tonight. I'm here because I don't want it to come down to that. I don't want her to lose her best friend because as much as I hate it sometimes, she needs you. So here's the deal. I'm going to do my best to prove that you're wrong about me but you're going to do something too. You're going to make Haley believe that you think you were wrong about me."  
  
"Why is that so important to you?"  
  
"Because Haley cried herself to sleep tonight, not because of something I did but because she'd told her best friend to get out of her life. I promised myself a long time ago that I would always do whatever I could to keep her from crying."  
  
"I don't want to know how you know she cried herself to sleep."  
  
"You really still in denial about that Lucas? She didn't want to be alone. You really upset her."  
  
"You know, I always figured I'd be the one to pick up the pieces after you hurt her. Never figured it'd be the other way around."  
  
"You wanna know something, me neither."  
  
"You really do love her don't you?"  
  
"Yeah I do. You going to be okay with that?"  
  
"I'll work on it. I guess you're not such a bad guy?"  
  
"What convinced you?'  
  
"Honestly, if I'd had a chance to get you out of Haley's life, I probably would have taken it. You're being a bigger man than I would have been. I'm surprised."  
  
"Me too. Any potential benefits of having you out of her life were overshadowed by how miserable she was."  
  
"You think she'll forgive me?"  
  
"Yeah. She loves you Lucas. It drives me crazy but she loves you."  
  
They both got up and began walking. They talked about a lot of things. Things they'd never gotten out in the open, like what it had been like for Lucas growing up so close to Dan Scott and his family and yet so far and what it had been like for Nathan growing up so close to Dan it was smothering. They talked about how Nathan was dealing with his parents' divorce and what Lucas thought about the budding relationship between his mom and their uncle Keith. They also talked about Peyton and Lucas threatened to kick Nathan's butt if he ever messed with his love life again, after thanking him. Nathan expressed his fears and anxieties about fatherhood and while Lucas was no expert on the topic, his reassurance that Nathan would be a good dad meant more coming from him than from anyone else. By the time they stopped talking the sun was starting to rise. Nathan dropped Lucas off at home before driving back to his house. He climbed back into bed next to Haley, kissing her forehead before drifting off to sleep. 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen  
  
A/N Finals are over, finals are over! Yay. Too bad I have to work at five am tomorrow. No matter, I have no studying or homework to do so I can write and read with a clear conscience.  
  
Lucas watched Haley disappear into the girls' washroom and let out an exasperated sigh. She was clearly avoiding him. He'd been trying to talk to her all day but every time he got within ten feet she would find a way to slip away. Since she wasn't going to make this easy for him, he was going to have to do this the hard way. He took a deep breathe, prayed that there was no one else in there and followed her into the bathroom.  
  
"Hales? So this is where you girls disappear to when you want to talk about us."  
  
"Lucas!?" Haley shrieked. "What are you doing in here?"  
  
"I need to talk to you and since you kept running away from me I figured this was my best shot."  
  
"Lucas, in case you haven't noticed, this is the girls' washroom. Get out!."  
  
"Actually, I did notice, it's a lot cleaner than ours. And I'm not leaving until you hear what I have to say."  
  
Haley stepped out of the stall and looked at Lucas face to face. It was immediately clear that he wasn't kidding. He had every intention of staying in that bathroom, and preventing her from leaving it, until he got his way. "Okay, fine. Speak."  
  
"I know you're mad."  
  
"Gee, how astute of you. You know, I always thought you were smarter than that."  
  
"Nice to see you haven't lost your sarcasm."  
  
"Yeah well, gotta give the people what you want. This is all nice and charming Luke but what did you want?"  
  
"I talked to Nathan?"  
  
"When?" Haley asked, surprised. She and Nathan and gone back to his house together after the confrontation with Lucas and had driven in to school together today. When would they have talked.  
  
Lucas cringed at the memory of the early conversation. "At four am this morning."  
  
"Four am as in in the morning? Why?"  
  
"He called me. He was upset that you were upset. He wanted to make it better."  
  
"Oh." 'That's so sweet.' She thought to herself.  
  
"So we cleared the air between us, like really cleared it. We were out until seven getting things out in the open. I think it really worked this time."  
  
"You do?" Haley wanted to believe him but every time Lucas and Nathan took a step forward they always seemed to take two steps back.  
  
"Yeah I really do. I know you need him Hales and I admit that that bugs me but not for the reasons you think. I hate it because you don't need me like you used to. Our friendship's never going to be the same and I'm having a hard time accepting that."  
  
"That's not true Lucas." But deep down she knew he was right.  
  
"Sure it is. You and Nathan are having this baby. You're going to be a family. You'll have this whole life that I can only have a peripheral part of. I've always felt like I was at the center of your life Haley and selfish as it sounds, I still don't want to give that up."  
  
"Doesn't mean we won't be best friends Luke. I'm sure there will be plenty of times when Nathan will piss me off and I'll need you to listen to me rant. Not to mention all the baby-sitting you're going to do."  
  
"Baby-sitting?"  
  
"Sure. The best friend of the mom is always happy to baby-sit. Don't make that face Luke, the baby's not going to be born tomorrow."  
  
Lucas, becoming aware of where they were, blushed and got very uncomfortable. "Um Hales, maybe we should take this conversation somewhere else."  
  
Haley looked at their surroundings and laughed. "Hey, you're the one who thought this would be a good place to chat but okay." She made sure the coast was clear and signalled for Lucas to duck out the door.  
  
"So what made you agree to talk to Nathan at such an unholy hour. I know how much I need your beauty sleep."  
  
"I am insulted. I happen to be blessed with naturally good looks. I wanted to make things right with you. Besides, I don't think he was about to take no for an answer."  
  
"Kind of reminds me of someone else I know, maybe someone who followed someone into the girls' restroom."  
  
"Okay maybe we do share a stubborn streak."  
  
"You know I didn't mean what I said yesterday, about you getting out of my life."  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
"So.are we okay?"  
  
"Yeah, we're okay."  
  
***  
  
"Yo, Jake!" Nathan tapped on his team mates shoulder after class. He'd noticed he'd been barely awake in class and wanted to make sure everything was okay.  
  
"Huh? Oh hi Nate."  
  
"You're a little out of it. You okay?"  
  
"Yeah. My parents are out of town so it's just me and Chiara this week. I haven't been able to start studying or homework before ten and I'm running on about two hours of sleep. Normally my mom watches her when I have school stuff but my parents haven't had a vacation in years."  
  
"Oh." He took a look at Jake, the poor guy seemed exhausted. "Hey, why don't I watch her for you tonight."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Come on, I've spent some time with her the last couple of weeks. She knows me and I'm pretty sure she doesn't think I'm a monster. I'll pick her up after school and you can take an evening off."  
  
"You serious? I mean, you don't have to."  
  
"I want to. It'll be good practice right? Besides, I might need you to return the favour some time in the future."  
  
"Okay. Well thanks Nathan. I can't tell you how grateful I am."  
  
"No problem. So who watches her while you're in school?"  
  
"Whitey."  
  
Nathan coughed. "Seriously?"  
  
"Yeah. I was going to skip class all week but he insisted. He has a soft side."  
  
"Who knew."  
  
"Okay, well meet me at Whitey's office after school and I'll tell you everything you need to know."  
  
"Sure, see you after school."  
  
***  
  
A few hours later  
  
"Okay. She usually eats around six, there's food in the bad. There are also bottles in the side pockets. She's just had a nap so she'll be wide awake for a while. Normally she's out by ten and I'll swing by around then to get her. All the numbers you need to know are on the back if you need anything."  
  
"Jake, relax. I promise I won't drop her."  
  
"I know. It's just hard leaving her. You'll understand when your baby's born."  
  
"I've got it from here. Go home and enjoy you're night off."  
  
"Again, thank you so much."  
  
As Jake walked off, Nathan glanced at Chiara. "Do me a favour, don't make this to difficult for me."  
  
She cooed at him and waved her hands. ""Glad we understand each other. Let's go." 


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen  
  
Nathan left the school by a side door to avoid the stares and speculation that the sight of him walking through the hallway with a baby would undoubtedly provoke. He didn't care for his sake, he was pretty used to being a subject of the rumour mill but he knew Jake didn't want everyone to know about Chiara. He arrived at his car pretty certain that no one had seen him. Here he met his first challenge. Who knew installing a car seat would be so complicated. He looked at the array of fasteners and straps and had no idea what was supposed to go where. He might have spent hours trying to figure it out if Whitey hadn't noticed him struggling and come out to help.  
  
"Nathan, why are you still here?"  
  
"I can't figure this thing out."  
  
"Yeah, I got that. You need some help?"  
  
"If you think you know how to put this thing in my car so that it's not going to fly away, be my guest."  
  
"I know you see me as a grumpy old bachelor but I do know a thing or two about babies. I do have nieces and nephews you know."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Now watch. The seat belt goes through this slot here. Then this strap goes through here. Make sure it's nice and tight, don't want it to wiggle around. See, all secure. So, do you know how to strap her in?"  
  
"Not so much."  
  
"I can see why Jake trusted you with her. Come here darling. In ya go. These two straps go over her shoulders and snap together. Then this strap hooks into the middle so that there's no way she's going to slip out. All nice and snug. You're good to go."  
  
"Thanks Coach."  
  
"Good luck."  
  
The short ride home was uneventful though the whole time, he was terrified that the car seat would come loose or he'd veer off the road. All kinds of worst case scenarios ran through his mind. He hadn't been that nervous driving since his road test. It was also the first time he'd obeyed the speed limit since his road test.  
  
"Well here we are. Don't worry, it only looks big." "Mom? I'm home."  
  
"Hey Sweetie, I was just on my way out. How was sch." She trailed off when she noticed Chiara. "Who's this?"  
  
"Her name is Chiara. She's Jake's daughter. I told you about her remember. I told Jake I'd watch her."  
  
"Oh, well I was going to have dinner with Karen and Keith but I can cancel."  
  
"No Mom. I don't want you to cancel your plans. I told Jake I'd baby-sit, not that you'd baby-sit. I can handle it."  
  
"Well, all right. If you're sure but call my cell phone if you need anything okay."  
  
"Okay Mom."  
  
Ten minutes later Deb was out the door and Nathan couldn't totally shrug off the anxious feeling that came over him. He couldn't help but worry that something would go wrong.  
  
"Just you and me now Chiara."  
  
He walked with her into the den where his mom had brought out a box of his old toys.  
  
"Let's see what I used to play with. Here are some blocks, and a little basketball, my father must have given that too me, you know get me off to an early start. Oh and here's the bear my mom says I used to take with me everywhere until my dad said I was too old for stuffed animals."  
  
Chiara grabbed a block and hit Nathan in the head with it. "Ow!" He rubbed his head. "You think that's funny don't you? Here, watch. This is how you play with blocks." He took some blocks and built a tower. "See, isn't that cool." Chaira knocked the tower over and burst into giggles.  
  
"Hey! You broke my tower!" He rebuilt it, only to have her knock it over again. The game continued for awhile. Chiara thought it was great fun to watch Nathan build a tower so that she could destroy it.  
  
***  
  
"Hey Mom!" Lucas greeted when he returned from shooting hoops on the playground.  
  
"Hi Luke. Did you have a good day?"  
  
"Oh you know, nothing out of the ordinary." He noticed his mom was wearing a dress and makeup and her hair was done. "You going somewhere?"  
  
"Actually, Keith and I were going to have dinner in. I was hoping you'd make yourself scarce. You can borrow my car."  
  
"Oh.okay. I guess I'll go out then. Is Uncle Keith here yet?" He knew the two were dating but hadn't really known how serious they were.  
  
"No."  
  
"Well you tell him not to do anything he wouldn't want to know I was doing."  
  
"Luke!"  
  
"Kidding. Well, sort of."  
  
"Go!"  
  
Lucas went upstairs and picked up the phone "Hey Peyton."  
  
"Luke, what's up?"  
  
"Nothing, what are you doing tonight?"  
  
"I'm hanging out with Haley. Girls' night remember."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Something wrong Luke?"  
  
"No, have fun."  
  
"Bye Luke."  
  
"Great, Peyton and Haley are busy. Guess I'll have to find something else to do."  
  
***  
  
Luke sat in the car in Nathan's driveway, unsure whether or not he should get out of the car. When he'd left his house it had seemed like a good idea to use the evening to spend time with Nathan but he'd gotten less sure the closer he got to his destination.  
  
"Grow up Luke. The house isn't haunted. There aren't any monsters creeping in the shadows and Dan doesn't live here any more. Just get out of the car and knock on the door. It took him another minute t actually do it."  
  
"It's open!" Nathan called out.  
  
Lucas slowly opened the door and walked in. He'd never been to Nathan's house when it wasn't full of people.  
  
"Nathan? Where are you?"  
  
"Living room."  
  
To say that Lucas was surprised to find Nathan with a diaper in one hand and a squirming, screaming baby on the floor in front of him would be like saying Mount Everest is a pile of dirt.  
  
"Nathan, what's going on?"  
  
"Lucas? What are you doing here? Never mind. I'm a little occupied at the moment."  
  
"I can see that. Who is that?"  
  
"Chiara. Jake's daughter. I'll explain later."  
  
"Okay. What are you trying to do?"  
  
"I'm trying to change her but this stupid thing keeps falling off."  
  
Lucas moved closer. "I see your problem. You're trying to put it on backwards. Here, give it to me."  
  
Lucas took the diaper from Nathan and finished the task. See, that's much better isn't it." He cooed at Chiara, who was still wailing.  
  
"Why is she still crying?"  
  
"She's probably hungry. Where are her bottles."  
  
"In the fridge. I'll get one."  
  
Nathan returned with a bottle and handed it to Chiara but she shoved it away. "That's not what she wants."  
  
Now Lucas was at a loss too. Chiara's crying was getting louder and he was out of ideas. "She sure ahs a powerful set of lungs," he commented, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"This really isn't the time for jokes Lucas. How do we get her to stop crying?" "We could call your mom, or mine."  
  
"No, I don't want them to think I can't handle it."  
  
"Suit yourself."  
  
"Shh, shh. No need to cry." Nathan picked Chiara up and walked around the room. "Please stop crying. Please. I'll let your daddy get some good shots in at the next game."  
  
"I don't think bribery works on babies."  
  
"You got any better ideas?"  
  
"Honestly? No. Does she have a fever?"  
  
Nathan felt her forehead. "I don't think so but there's a thermometer in the side pocket of that bag over there." Lucas handed him the thermometer and he put it in her ear. "Nope, normal."  
  
"Wait, put your finger in her mouth."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just do it."  
  
Nathan, too tired to argue, obeyed and the baby's sobs dissipated. "Hey, she stopped. How'd you think of that?"  
  
"Something I remembered from the baby-sitter's course Haley made me take with her when we were twelve. She's teething and her gums are sore. Chewing on your finger helps." Lucas sifted through the bag and found a teething ring. "Here, so she doesn't chew through your finger."  
  
Nathan exchanged his finger for the teething ring. "Thanks, those teeth may be small but they're sharp. So, you really took a baby-sitter's course."  
  
"Yeah, Haley didn't want to go alone so she goaded me into it. I can't even remember what she blackmailed me with now."  
  
Nathan laughed. "Sorry, I'm just having a hard time picturing you putting a diaper on a plastic doll."  
  
"Well at least I know which way to put one on. What would you have done if I hadn't shown up?"  
  
"I'd have figured it out eventually." Lucas looked at him sceptically. "Okay maybe not. Thanks for the help. So, back to my earlier question, what are you doing here?"  
  
"My mom kicked me out so she could have dinner with Uncle Keith. Peyton and Haley are doing some girlie thing. You were my last resort."  
  
"Gee I feel so loved."  
  
"So, did you really say she's Jake's? How did I not know that?"  
  
"It's not public knowledge. He only told me to talk me out of quitting basketball."  
  
"Oh. Wow. I guess that explains Coach's leniency with him. So how'd you end up watching her anyway? This isn't exactly your typical Friday night activity."  
  
"Jake needed a night off. Besides, I'm going to be spending a lot of Friday nights like this in the future. So are you for that matter."  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Sure, cause when me and Haley need a night off from diaper duty I know you're going to be more than happy to step in."  
  
"Oh I will will I. Haley said the same thing."  
  
"Well that's part of your duty as uncle."  
  
"Uncle?"  
  
"That's the traditional name for the brother of the father right?"  
  
"Yeah but."  
  
"And we are brothers, for better or worse."  
  
"You're just saying that cause you want me changing diapers."  
  
"Yeah maybe. But DNA's on my side. Hey, she's asleep."  
  
"Looks a lot cuter when she's not screaming doesn't she?"  
  
"No kidding. Babies should come with an off switch. You wanna watch some tv?"  
  
"All right. I sure don't want to go home yet. Who knows what I might walk in on."  
  
Nathan chuckled. "So, your mom and Uncle Keith. That must feel a little weird."  
  
"I'm getting used to it. They're happy anyway so I guess that's what counts."  
  
"I hope I'll be that calm when my mom starts dating again."  
  
"Your parents really getting divorced?"  
  
"Yeah. He's still trying to convince us that he's changed but Mom's not backing down. I'm proud of her."  
  
Both boys grew uncomfortable with the depth of their conversation. Nathan shifted Chiara's weight in his arms. "What do you wanna watch."  
  
"I dunno. I think there's a game on."  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile  
  
"So, what's Nathan up to tonight?" Peyton and Haley were over at Peyton's house, watching movies and catching up on idle gossip.  
  
"He told me he was going to stay home and relax. He's been pretty stressed out about finals."  
  
"Really? He never used to worry over tests."  
  
"Yeah, because he didn't really care what he got so long as he could stay on the team. A C isn't good enough for him anymore. I consider it a great accomplishment. I mean it's great helping someone to improve their grades and understand a subject but the best feeling is knowing you've made them want to do well."  
  
"I must say I'm impressed. I never thought I'd see the day when Nathan Scott would care about school, though I think it has more to do with you dating him than tutoring him."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"I think a big reason why Nathan cares about his grades is that he thinks he has to prove he's good enough for you."  
  
"He doesn't have to prove anything."  
  
"But he thinks he does. Anyway, enough about Nathan, if we stay on the topic much longer you'll never get off it. So.don't be mad."  
  
"About?"  
  
"Well I kind of invited Brooke to join us."  
  
"What? Why?" You know we don't get along, like at all."  
  
"I know but she asked me what I was doing tonight so I told her. She really wanted to come and I didn't have the heart to say no." "I know the two of you have been friends for years but I don't think I can handle a whole evening with her."  
  
"Come on please. You want your best friend and your boyfriend to get along right?"  
  
"Yeah but what does that have to do with Brooke?"  
  
"I want my two best friends to get along. See where I'm coming from."  
  
"Ugh. You've backed me into a corner haven't you."  
  
"That was the plan." The doorbell rang. "There she is." She got up and opened the door. "Hi Brooke."  
  
"Hey girl. Hi Haley."  
  
"Now I expect you two to play nice. Understood?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Haley?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
After the movie was over, the three of them were sitting around in awkward silence.  
  
Brooke cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, she appeared nervous. "So um.I have a confession to make."  
  
"Brooke, I really don't feel like one of your little games of truth."  
  
"Not that kind of confession. It has to do with you." She looked at Haley.  
  
Now Haley was uncomfortable. "What about me?"  
  
"First I'd just like to say that I'm not proud of what I did and if I could I'd take it back but I can't and I know Peyton wants us to be friends but we can't be until the air is cleared."  
  
"Whatever it is Brooke, please just get it over with."  
  
"Remember when everyone in school found out you were pregnant? Well, I was kind of the one who got that started?"  
  
"What?! How did you even know?"  
  
"I snuck into the boys locker room, whole other story, and overheard Lucas and Nathan talking about it. I know it was wrong and I really am sorry."  
  
"Brooke," Peyton said. "How could you?"  
  
"I was pissed at Lucas for dumping me and at Haley for having one of the hottest guys at school at her beck and call. I wanted to lash out at them."  
  
Haley was too stunned to speak. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt me?"  
  
"Probably not. Look, you have no reason to forgive me, I get that but I was hoping maybe you would anyway."  
  
"Why would you care whether I forgave you or not?"  
  
"Do I have to have a reason to want to be your friend?"  
  
Haley got up quickly. "I doubt you and I will ever be friends." She turned to Peyton, "I'm sorry but I have to go digest this new information."  
  
"Okay. See you tomorrow."  
  
"Good night."  
  
*** Haley found herself at Nathan's front door without really realizing that was where she was going. She wasn't surprised. That was usually where she went when she was upset over something. She opened the door and let herself in. She'd stopped ringing the doorbell a long time ago.  
  
"Nathan?"  
  
She stopped dead in her tracks when she walked into the living room and beheld the sight of Nathan, sitting on the couch with a baby in his arms and Lucas sprawled out in an arm chair, all three of them sound asleep. 


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen  
  
Haley had a pretty good idea who the baby was but that still didn't explain why she was at Nathan's house, or why Lucas was there with them. She thought about waking them up to get an explanation but they just looked so cute, she didn't have the heart. She covered Nathan and Chiara with a blanket then id the same for Lucas. She'd just put some water on for tea when Deb walked in.  
  
"Oh, hi Haley. Where's Nathan?"  
  
"Asleep in the living room with a baby I assume is Jake's daughter. Lucas is there too."  
  
"Lucas?"  
  
Haley shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. But maybe you could tell me why there's a baby with him."  
  
"Oh he didn't tell you. He offered to babysit Chiara for Jake tonight."  
  
"Oh. I wonder why he didn't tell me."  
  
"Probably wanted you to enjoy girls' night. He refused to let me stay and help too."  
  
"I wonder how Lucas ended up here."  
  
"I have no idea. But you have to go in there and look at them. It makes quite the picture."  
  
When Deb followed Haley into the living room and saw her son asleep on the couch with a baby in his arms, she could barely contain her tears. "Oh my, my baby. He really is grown up now. I have to go get a camera." She returned moments later and snapped several pictures.  
  
"I want copies of those."  
  
"Of course." Deb wiped her eyes.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. It's just starting to hit me I guess that Nathan's going to be a dad, I'm going to be a grandma. I thought I was used to the idea but seeing him in there with a baby, even if it's someone else's, brings it home you know."  
  
"Oh I know. I felt the same way when I saw them."  
  
"You seem to be feeling much better these days." "I am thankfully. I thought morning sickness would never end." The kettle starts to whistle. "That's the tea."  
  
"Wonderful. Why don't we sit in the kitchen and talk, I don't want to wake them."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Haley poured to cups of tea and sat down across from Deb. "Where were you? I thought the restaurant was closed tonight."  
  
"It was. I had a date."  
  
Haley coughed. "A date? With who?"  
  
"Don't tell Nathan, I told him I had dinner with Karen and Keith. His name is Ben."  
  
"You mean the guy who always comes in to the restaurant? I knew he liked you."  
  
"Yeah, he asked me out a few weeks ago. I said no at first but then I thought about it and decided there was no reason not to."  
  
"So why lie to Nathan?"  
  
"Honestly? I don't know. I had every intention of telling him. After all, he seems to be handling mine and Dan's divorce pretty well but then the lie just popped out."  
  
"He'll be happy for you Deb, trust me he will."  
  
"I know. It just seems a little weird you know. I haven't dated in seventeen years."  
  
"All the more reason to enjoy it."  
  
"You seem a little upset Haley. What's wrong."  
  
"Nothing really. Just had a rough night. I came over here hoping to talk to Nathan about it but I didn't want to wake him."  
  
"So why don't you talk to me about it?"  
  
"Peyton and I had plans to hang out tonight but Brooke came."  
  
"I see. You two have never gotten along."  
  
"Not at all but she and Peyton are close so I was determined to be civil to her. Then she made a confession."  
  
"What kind of confession?"  
  
"Do you remember when word got around school that I was pregnant and I got really upset? Well Brooke was the one who started spreading the news."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"So I ran out of there."  
  
"Understandable."  
  
"She said she was sorry and maybe she means it but I don't know if I can."  
  
"No one's going to expect you to. Especially not right away."  
  
"I guess."  
  
There was a knock on the door. Haley got up to answer it. "That'll be Jake. I'll get it."  
  
"Oh, hi Haley."  
  
"Hi Jake. Come in. Chiara's asleep in the other room. I'll go get her."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
She returned with Chiara in her arms and handed her to Jake.  
  
"So how'd it go?"  
  
"I don't know. By the time I got here they were all asleep."  
  
"Can't have been that bad then. Tell Nathan I'll see him in school on Monday."  
  
"Will do. See you Monday."  
  
"Bye Haley."  
  
When she returned to the kitchen, Deb caught her yawning. "You're tired. Why don't you stay in Nathan's room tonight."  
  
"That's a good idea. Thanks Deb."  
  
"Any time."  
  
"Good night."  
  
***  
  
Haley awoke the next morning in Nathan's bed. That wasn't so unusual but it was the first time she'd awoken in it without him beside her. Her brief disappointment at the sight of the empty space made her realize how used she'd gotten to waking up beside him. True, he was just downstairs but it wasn't the same. She got up and put on the robe she kept in his closet. She walked downstairs, no one else was up so she started the coffee and found some fixings for breakfast.  
  
"Something smells good." Deb said as she came down the stairs.  
  
"I made pancakes and sausage. I hope you don't mind my making myself at home in your kitchen."  
  
"Not at all. You're carrying my grandchild. You're family. So, should we wake up the two baby-sitters in there or should we eat it all ourselves?"  
  
"I don't know; I suppose we could share. I'll go wake them."  
  
Haley walked into the living room and looked at the two boys. Nathan was halfway off the couch and Lucas had fallen to the floor sometime during the night. Neither appeared to notice or care.  
  
"Nathan," she whispered in his ear but got no response. "Time for a different approach." She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him passionately.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"That woke you up."  
  
"Morning." He smiled. "Wait, where's Chiara?"  
  
"Jake picked her up last night like he said he would. How'd you sleep?"  
  
"This couch sucks. And I was lonely without you."  
  
"Really? Well I was very comfortable in your bed. I'm going to wake up Luke."  
  
"Better not use the same method you did with me."  
  
"Well you know I could but I think I'd give both of you a heart attack." She walked over the Luke and shoved him with her foot.  
  
"Hey! What was that for? Oh, hi Haley."  
  
"Rise and shine. Breakfast is ready."  
  
***  
  
"It smells great mom" Nathan said, walking into the kitchen.  
  
"I know it does but I can't take the credit. Haley made breakfast."  
  
Nathan looked at Haley. "You cook? How did I not know this?"  
  
"My little secret, and don't think for one minute that I'm going to do all the cooking in our." she stopped herself.  
  
"Our what Hales?"  
  
"Nothing. Just don't expect me to do all the cooking."  
  
"Uh huh." He saw that Haley was uncomfortable and dropped it. She could explain her little slip later when his mom and her best friend weren't around.  
  
"So, what are your guys' plans for today?" Deb asked.  
  
"I'm working the dinner shift tonight and before that we have studying to do." She looked at Nathan pointedly.  
  
Nathan groaned. "She works me to the bone this one. I never get a break."  
  
"And it's done you a world of good hasn't it." He was silent. "That's what I thought. What about you Luke?"  
  
"Peyton and I were going to study for the big math test. And I told Keith I'd watch the shop for him this morning. I don't want to think about what he's doing."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Nathan asked.  
  
"He and my mom ate in last night if you know what I mean." Lucas grimaced. "Ugh, I really don't want to think about it."  
  
Realization came over Nathan's face. "Wait a minute, Mom, didn't you say you were going out with Karen and Keith last night."  
  
Haley saw Deb grow uncomfortable and grabbed Lucas' hand. "Come on Luke, let's go for a walk."  
  
"I'm not done eating."  
  
"You can heat it up when we get back. Come on."  
  
"Okay, what was that all about?" he asked when they got outside.  
  
"Nathan and his mom need to talk. Deb had a date last night."  
  
"Oh. But why would she lie about it I mean Nathan's okay with the divorce."  
  
"Yeah but she still doesn't know how he's going to react to her dating other people. She didn't know how to tell him."  
  
***  
  
"Okay Mom spill, where were you really last night?"  
  
"I had a date."  
  
"A date? With who?"  
  
"A regular at the restaurant. Sweetie, I'm sorry I lied to you, I just didn't know how to tell you."  
  
"It's okay Mom but next time you make a date with a guy, tell me about it. I want to be able to meet him and see if he's good enough for my mom. Deal?"  
  
"Deal." 


	18. Chapter Eighteen

A/N I meant to get this out yesterday but we have houseguests and I couldn't get onto the computer. So you get it really early in the morning instead.  
  
Chapter Eighteen  
  
Nathan was shooting hoops on the playground. He liked when it was just him and the basket, no cheerleaders, no coach, no scores. It gave him time to think and lately, he'd had a lot to think about. He'd always known that the baby was going to change his and Haley's lives but until he'd baby-sat Jake's daughter, the baby had been an abstract, a dot on a screen and a heartbeat in the doctor's office. Somewhere between changing diapers and feeding Chiara, it had hit him just how different his life was going to be once the baby came. It wasn't a bad thing. He was looking forward to holding his child in his arms and teaching him or her to play basketball when they got older. Still, it was scary. Not that long ago he's thought the biggest decision he'd have to make in high school was whether to enter the draft right after graduation or play college ball first. He hadn't imagined himself poring over baby-name books.  
  
He took a shot, missed and muttered a curse under his breath.  
  
"I knew your game would suffer without me around to motivate you."  
  
He spun around at the familiar sound of his father's voice. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I wanted to talk to you. It's been awhile son."  
  
"Son? You have no right to call me that."  
  
"Touche. You act like the mistakes you made were all my fault."  
  
"No, I take full responsibility for my actions but I'm better off without you pushing me all the time."  
  
Dan shrugged. "So how's Holly?"  
  
"Haley, and she's fine. Not that it's any of your business."  
  
"I bet you think you're the better man now don't you? You think you're different from me, that you'll be a better dad but you're wrong."  
  
"Excuse me, if you're trying to say I'm going to leave Haley and my child like you left Karen and Lucas, you're wrong."  
  
"You don't have to leave them to be like me. You seem to have decided that Lucas was better off without me around."  
  
"So what?"  
  
"So, face it Nathan, you're like me. Everyone's commented on how similar we are since the day you were born. We look alike, we walk alike. You have my genes and there's nothing you can do to change that. You say I messed up your life by pressuring you too much but you're going to do the same thing to your child. It might not be basketball but whatever he or she decides to do, you're going to push until they stop loving it. One day it will be your child collapsing during a game. It won't be your fault. It's in the Scott gene."  
  
Nathan's fists clenched. "Shut up. Just shut the hell up. You're wrong. I'm not you. I'll never be you."  
  
"Truth hurts doesn't it?" Dan said snidely.  
  
"I don't have to listen to this. Get out of my life and stay out." Nathan stormed off, got in his car and drove away, fuming.  
  
***  
  
He tried not to let what Dan had said get to him. He tried to tell himself that he was just being the jerk he always was but he was far from convinced. He thought about talking to Haley or even Lucas but decided it would only upset them unnecessarily. He drove around for awhile to blow off steam before going to the restaurant to see if Haley wanted to hang out after her shift.  
  
The place was packed and Haley had her hands full. He saw her running from table to table, into the kitchen and back again. He could tell that despite her calm exterior, she was frazzled.  
  
"Hey Hales, you look busy."  
  
"Uh huh," was all she said before throwing an apron at him. "Get to work."  
  
He nodded and put the apron on. "Which tables do you want me to take?"  
  
"I'll take this half, you get the rest."  
  
"Okay." He picked an order up from the counter and brought it over to one of the tables.  
  
The next two hours were crazy busy. He'd never seen that many people in there at once. He and Haley only had time to say a few words to each other in passing but Nathan didn't mind. He was grateful for not having to talk much. He still wasn't in the mood for conversation.  
  
"That was insane." Haley commented when they finally left. "I mean, I'm glad business is good but yikes."  
  
"No kidding. Good tips though."  
  
"So you can buy me something pretty."  
  
"Maybe." He smiled.  
  
"Nathan."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Is something wrong? You seem distracted."  
  
"I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff."  
  
"Stuff?"  
  
"The usual stuff lately, you, the baby."  
  
Haley wasn't entirely convinced but decided to let it drop. "Do you want to stay with me tonight? My parents are gone."  
  
"Do you even need to ask?" He gave her a sly grin.  
  
"I suppose not."  
  
***  
  
"There's a [air of your boxers in the top drawer. Your toothbrush should be in the cupboard below the sink. I keep it in there so my parents don't freak out."  
  
Nathan chuckled.  
  
"What?"  
  
"It's kind of live we live together, but not."  
  
"I know. Does it seem weird to you?"  
  
"No. You?"  
  
"Nope. Feels perfect."  
  
He was already in bed and watching her undress. He loved looking at her pregnant belly, knowing that the child they'd created was growing inside her. She got into bed and curled up against him. "Goodnight Nathan."  
  
"Goodnight Hales. I love you."  
  
"Love you too." They drifted quickly off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
"Son! Get over here! I want to talk to you." He yelled in a voice that eerily resembled his father's.  
  
A small brown-haired boy, about five years old, trotted over and looked up at him meekly. "Yes daddy?"  
  
"How many goals did you let past you?"  
  
"I dunno daddy."  
  
"Six. You let in six goals. That's unacceptable. You'll never be a great soccer player if you keep playing like you did today."  
  
"But I had fun daddy."  
  
"I don't care if you had fun. That's not what matters. You're a Scott and Scotts play to win. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes daddy." The voice was barely audible.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"Yes daddy."  
  
"Better. We're going to have to practice for an extra hour every day so you can improve. Go take your position in front of the net. I'll be right there."  
  
The little boy looked over at his friends, who were trotting off to the playground but he didn't dare disobey his father.  
  
"Yes daddy."  
  
***  
  
He awoke with a start. "It was just a dream, just a dream." He said to himself. Then he remembered his father's words to him. "You're just like me Nathan. It's in the genes Nathan." Suddenly the room felt stifling. He got up and went downstairs, began pacing around the living room.  
  
"I can't be like me dad. I can't. I can't do that to my child. I can't make my own child hate me. I'd never forgive myself. My father's right. I can't fight DNA. There's only one thing I can do to protect my child from me."  
  
He went back upstairs to Haley's room and found a pad of paper and a pen from her desk.  
  
Haley,  
  
I'm sorry but I have to leave. You were wrong about me Hales. I can't be there for you and our child. I can't be a father. I'm sorry for leading you on. Have a good life. I wish you the best.  
  
Nathan  
  
He folded the note in half and wrote Haley on the front. Not even trying to fight back the tears, he placed it on the pillow beside her, on the spot he'd occupied ten minutes earlier. Then he was out the door. 


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen  
  
Haley awoke with a smile on her face. She'd had a really great dream. She and Nathan were married and their daughter was five years old. It was her first day of school and Nathan was trying to talk her into going. They had a son too. He was two and looked just like Nathan. It was the life Haley was starting to believe they could have. The feeling didn't last. She turned over and saw a note where Nathan was supposed to be. She picked it up, wondering what romantic gesture he had in mind for her. She wasn't prepared for what it actually contained.  
  
"No!" She brought her hand to her mouth and shook her head, tears already forming in her eyes. "No." She read it again, and again but the words refused to change. They still said that he was gone.  
  
***  
  
"Ugh." Lucas groaned when his phone rang, awakening him from a peaceful sleep. It was the weekend. Why was anyone calling him this early.  
  
"Hello."  
  
"Lu.u.cas." Haley sobbed on the other end.  
  
Lucas was instantly awake. "Haley?! Haley what's wrong?"  
  
She mumbled something unintelligible.  
  
"Never mind. I'll be right over. Are you at home?"  
  
"Ye.ye.yes."  
  
Ten minutes later Lucas pulled up to Haley's house. He let himself in and took the stairs two at a time. He found Haley on her bed, crying hysterically. He was instantly at her side.  
  
"Hales, Hales what's wrong."  
  
"Na.Na.Na.than. He.he.he."  
  
"Hales, you need to take a deep breath and tell me what happened. Slowly."  
  
She handed him the note. He read it and slammed his fist into the bed. "That bastard. I could kill him!" He took Haley in his arms and rocked her back and forth. "It'll be okay. Everything's going to be okay."  
  
Half an hour later Haley was a little calmer, well, at least Lucas could understand her. He brought a cup of tea up to her. "Here, drink this."  
  
She took it from him. "Thanks."  
  
"So now that you can speak in complete sentences again, do you want to tell me what happened?"  
  
"That's just it, I don't know. He helped me out at the restaurant then we came back here because my parents are out of town. We were both really tired so we just told each other I love you and went to sleep. When I woke up he was gone. Looks like you were right Luke. He is just like Dan after all."  
  
Lucas read the note again and shook his head. There was something off, not once did Nathan say he didn't want to be a father, just that he couldn't. He had the sense that there was more to it. "I don't know. Something doesn't seem right. He seemed to be looking forward to fatherhood when I saw him a few years ago."  
  
"Guess he had us both fooled."  
  
"Give me a minute okay. I'll be right back."  
  
"Okay."  
  
He left the room and pulled out his cell phone. "Peyton?"  
  
"Luke? What's up?"  
  
"Something's happened."  
  
"What are you talking about, what happened?"  
  
"Nathan's gone."  
  
"What? What do you mean gone?"  
  
"I mean gone, as in AWOL, as in left Haley a note saying he couldn't be a father."  
  
"Oh no.Luke please tell me you didn't say I told you so."  
  
"Of course not. That's the thing, I have a feeling there's more to this than meets the eye. I have to try and find Nathan. Any idea where he might go?"  
  
"He used to go to his parents' beach house when he was upset or wanted to be alone. That's the only place I can think of."  
  
"Okay. Can you come over here and stay with Haley? I don't want to leave her alone."  
  
"Sure. Be right there."  
  
Lucas met Peyton in the doorway and gave her a quick kiss. "She's upstairs. Sorry to rush out of here but I don't want to waste anytime.  
  
"Of course. Go find him, and Luke?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Kick his ass for me."  
  
"Believe me, I intend to."  
  
***  
  
Lucas arrived at the Scott beach house and sure enough, Nathan's car was parked out front.  
  
"You better hope someone kidnapped you Nathan, because if not, I'm going to kill you." He muttered to himself as he opened the door.  
  
"Nathan?" He called out.  
  
"Go away." Came the cheerful reply.  
  
"Not a chance."  
  
Lucas walked out onto the deck and found Nathan sitting there, his head in his hands.  
  
"Nathan, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I was going to ask you the same thing. I don't recall inviting you in."  
  
"I didn't ask. Answer my question."  
  
"I couldn't get a flight until the end of the week. I'm waiting here until then."  
  
"Where do you think you're going to go?"  
  
"None of your business."  
  
"You wanna tell me why my best friend is at home crying her eyes out while you're here, looking like something the cat dragged in?"  
  
"I'm really not in the mood for a brotherly chat."  
  
"I didn't have anything brotherly to say to you anyway. I was just going to kick your ass but figured I might as well let you explain yourself first."  
  
"There's nothing to explain. I'm a jerk, just like you always thought."  
  
"There's a part of me that would really like to believe that but I'm not buying it. A jerk wouldn't have offered to spend a Friday night baby- sitting. A jerk wouldn't carry a sonogram picture around in his wallet and how it to complete strangers. So tell me what's really going on."  
  
"You wouldn't understand."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"Dan came to see me yesterday."  
  
"Dan?"  
  
"Yeah Dan, as in the devil himself. He told me there's not escaping his genes and that if I stick around I'll end up being as lousy a father as he was to me."  
  
"Nathan that's a load of crap. He's just trying to get to you."  
  
"No, he has a point. I mean, how can I know I won't be like him? I can't take the risk."  
  
"So Nathan, if I ever have a child, do you think I should abandon it?"  
  
"No! Of course not. That's crazy."  
  
"But I have Dan's genes too. Doesn't that mean I'm also doomed to be a terrible father?"  
  
"It's not the same."  
  
"Sure it is. If DNA's what you're worried about then I might as well forget about fatherhood too."  
  
"I never said that. You don't understand."  
  
"Then explain it to me."  
  
"Ever since I was a little kid my dad's been pushing me. I always knew nothing would ever be good enough but I kept trying to please him anyway. I envied you. I used to wish I could trade places with you so that I could be the one he pretended didn't exist."  
  
"Dan's a lousy father. That's nothing new. What I want to know is why you're so freaked out all of a sudden."  
  
"I was shooting hoops on the playground, thinking about how I couldn't wait to hold my son or daughter. Then Dan showed up and I got a good dose of reality. At first I shrugged it off, told myself he was just being Dan. I helped Haley out at the restaurant and went back to her place for the night. I didn't give Dan another thought."  
  
"So what happened?"  
  
"I had a dream. I was at my kid's soccer game. I wasn't happy with his performance so I yelled at him, made him practice instead of playing with his friends. You should have seen his face Luke. There was fear in his eyes. My own son was afraid of me. Just like I was always afraid of my father. That's how it will be if I stick around and I can't let that happen. My child is better off without me."  
  
Lucas stared at Nathan and for the first time really realized just how badly Dan had messed him up. "If you really think that then you are an idiot. You aren't going to be the kind of father Dan was to you because you're not Dan."  
  
"Not yet."  
  
Lucas sighed, frustrated. Somehow he had to get through to Nathan, not just because of Haley but because he knew if his brother left, he'd soon regret it. "Okay Nathan, you think you got a glimpse into the future, well I'm going to give you another one. Imagine this Nathan, Haley's in labour, she's in pain and all she wants is for you to hold her hand but you're not there. Then, when her child, your child is laid in her arms, all she can think about is how much he or she looks like you and how she wishes you were there to share this amazing moment with her. It should be the happiest day of her life but it's not because you're not there. Fast-forward five years, your child comes home from school and says "Mommy, why don't I have a daddy?" Haley doesn't know what to say because she really doesn't understand it herself. If you leave Nathan, you're going to miss out on hearing your child's first words, teaching him or her to ride a bike or shoot a basketball. You're going to miss birthdays, Christmases, graduations, all those big moments. Not to mention the littler things like the first lost tooth and the first crush. Do you really want Dan to take all that away from you?"  
  
"I wish I were stronger Luke. I really do but I'm not. I can't fight him. I've never been able to fight him."  
  
"Maybe Haley was wrong about you after all. I thought you were a better man than that."  
  
Nathan was silent. Lucas' words stung.  
  
"Haley has a doctor's appointment tomorrow. I want you to seriously think about what you want until then. If you don't show up, I'll know I was right all along."  
  
With those words he left Nathan alone to ponder whether he should risk being just like his father or lose Haley and their child forever. 


	20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty  
  
A/N Wow, those reviews were overwhelming. You guys rock Thanks. I'm so sorry this took so long. The holidays were really hectic. The next part will be up in the next day or so.  
  
Lucas looked at Haley as she sat beside him in the doctor's office. She was trying to be strong but he could tell she was barely hanging on. Her eyes were red and there were dark circles under them She looked like she hadn't slept in twenty-four hours, because she hadn't. He desperately wanted to help her but there was nothing he could do. It was all up to Nathan now.  
  
"Haley James?" The receptionist called out.  
  
"I'm Haley James." She stood up slowly.  
  
"Right this way." She lead Lucas and Haley to a room. "The doctor will be right in."  
  
Haley looked around, it was the same room she and Nathan had been in for their first appointment. This was the room where they'd first seen their baby on the ultrasound, where they'd first heard the heartbeat. She felt her eyes ill up with tears and tried not to think about Nathan.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. I just wish Nathan were here."  
  
"I know." 'Guess he's not coming,' he thought to himself. 'I really thought he'd be here.'  
  
"It's not too late." He tried to reassure her.  
  
"Don't be stupid Luke. Nathan's gone. He's not coming back. I've accepted it, really." She really wanted to mean it.  
  
"Hello Haley. How are we doing today." The doctor asked cheerfully. She looked at Luke, a confused expression on her face. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."  
  
"I'm Lucas."  
  
"Oh, where's Nathan."  
  
"He couldn't make it today so I said I'm come." Lucas answered,  
  
The doctor looked sceptical but let it slide. "All right then. Haley, take a seat up on the cot here and we'll get started. "How's the morning sickness?"  
  
"Subsiding. I still feel queasy sometimes but ti's not every day anymore."  
  
"Good. You're lucky. With some women it lasts the whole nine months."  
  
"Ugh." Haley groaned.  
  
"You're taking you're vitamins? And eating well?"  
  
"Yes and yes."  
  
"Good. Any concerns you wanted to talk about?"  
  
"No. Things seem to be going pretty well so far."  
  
"Great. I'll do an ultrasound now, see where we're at."  
  
While the doctor was setting up the ultrasound Lucas heard a commotion outside. He strained his ears to hear what was going on.  
  
"But I'm the father! I have to let me in there!" Shouted a familiar voice.  
  
"Someone's in a bad mood." The doctor joked.  
  
"Excuse me a minute." Lucas said and walked out into the waiting room. Sure enough, Nathan was yelling at the receptionist, demanding to be allowed in to see Haley.  
  
"Nathan, Nathan, man calm down."  
  
"Lucas, could you please tell this woman that I'm the father and I need to be in there."  
  
Lucas looked at the receptionist and smiled apologetically. "He is the father. He was running late and wasn't sure he was going to make it. I'm sure he didn't mean to yell at you. Did you?" He elbowed Nathan in the side.  
  
"No. I'm really sorry."  
  
"Apology accepted. Expectant fathers do tend to get a little stressed."  
  
"Exactly. Come on Nathan, I'll take you to Haley.  
  
Lucas lead Nathan to the examination room. The doctor was waiting for Lucas to return before starting the ultrasound.  
  
"Look who I found."  
  
Haley looked up and couldn't believe her eyes. "Nathan? What are you doing here?"  
  
"We have a doctor's appointment don't we?" She looked at him questioningly. "I'll explain everything else later. Lucas, I've got it from here."  
  
"Sure. I'll talk to you later Hales."  
  
"All right. Can I do the ultrasound now or are there more visitors expected?"  
  
"You can start."  
  
Nathan felt his heart skip a beat when he heard their baby's heartbeat fill the room. The image of their baby was more obvious than in the first ultrasound.  
  
"Well this is interesting."  
  
"What is it?" Nathan and Haley said in unison.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Nathan asked, fear evident in his voice.  
  
"No, nothing's wrong. But you're going to be twice as busy. See, that's baby one, and that's baby two."  
  
"Wait a minute, did you say two?"  
  
"Yes, as in twins."  
  
"Wow." Nathan sat back in his chair. "Wow. Did you hear that Hales, we're having twins." He kissed her forehead.  
  
***  
  
A short while later they were in the car driving home. Everything seemed to be back to normal but Haley couldn't simply forget that Nathan had left her.  
  
"Nathan, when were you going to talk about what happened?"  
  
Nathan sighed. He'd known this was coming but he just didn't know what to say. He was so ashamed of what he'd done, it had been so cowardly, so Dan- like. "I know we have to. I'm just afraid you'll hate me."  
  
"Nathan, when I was sitting in my room, alone, holding your note in my hand, I couldn't hate you. I tried but I just don't have it in me to hate you. Please Nathan, I need to know what made you take off like that, and why you came back."  
  
"Okay. I don't want to do this in the car okay. Let's go to the docks."  
  
They drove to the docks and sat down in their usual spot. "Okay Nathan, time's up. Talk."  
  
"Okay. I talked to my father a few days ago. He said some stuff that got to me."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like I was going to be the same kind of father as he was. Then I had a dream where I was exactly like him, yelling at my son . It freaked me out. That's y worst nightmare Hales, that I'm going to make my child as miserable as he made me. So I ran. I told myself I was protecting my child. I swear Haley, it was never about hurting you or not caring about you. I love you and our child more than anything but I got it in my head that I'd only hurt you both if I stuck around."  
  
Haley nodded. "What changed your mind?"  
  
"Lucas. He came and found me at the beach house and told me what an idiot I was being. He told me how much I'd be missing out on if I went through with it. At first, I refused to listen to me but then was sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself this morning and the sonogram picture fell out of my wallet. It hit me that I didn't want to miss out on fatherhood just because I had a lousy dad so I drove here as fast as I could."  
  
"I'm glad you came."  
  
"You're not mad?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm mad. I'm furious actually because you put me through he** this week. Finding your note was like a bullet through the heart. I didn't want to live, I didn't see a reason why I should. I'm mad that you took off without even talking to me about what was bothering you. If you had we could have worked through it together. That's the thing Nathan, you can't take on everything by yourself; you have to let me in. Because if you can't do that Nathan, you might as well leave."  
  
She was done being upset and sad, now she was furious. "You're not the only one who can walk away Nathan. Now it's my turn." 


	21. Chapter Twenty One

A/N Thank you so much for all the reviews and requests. They mean more than you realize and really brightened up an otherwise dreary week. Hope you think this was worth the wait.  
  
Chapter 21  
  
Lucas was surprised to find Nathan sitting alone in the cafeteria, looking miserable. He couldn't remember ever seeing his brother without Haley or a crowd of jocks and cheerleaders. He was beginning to wonder if he'd tumbled into a parallel universe when he spotted Haley sitting in a corner, also by herself. Every so often she's glance in Nathan's direction and Lucas could see that she'd been crying. It looked like Nathan had too. He walked over to Nathan and sat down across from him.  
  
Nathan looked up and scowled. "I didn't ask for company."  
  
"No, but from my end it looks like you need some. What happened. When I left the doctor's it looked like things were on their way to okay."  
  
"I thought they were. We went to the docks to talk things out and I told her about my dad and everything and she got pissed because I didn't talk to her about it. Long story short she said it was her turn to walk away."  
  
"Ouch."  
  
"Tell me about it. And now I don't know what to do. I've said I was sorry. I've groveled, admitted I was stupid and wrong but she still won't talk to me. I stood outside her window throwing pebbles until her dad threatened to call the cops. I've followed her to all of her classes, tried to corner her at her locker, nothing works. How can I make things better if she's ignoring me? Luke, I need your help. If I lose her.... well I just can't lose her."  
  
"You won't. I know Haley pretty well. Underneath the smart exterior she's a girlie girl at heart. She liked romantic movies and grand gestures. What you need is a grand gesture."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Do something romantic and unexpected. She's mad because she thinks you shut her out. Prove her wrong."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Uh uh, you're on your own there. I tell you what though, I will go talk to Haley, see if I can soften her up a little." "Thanks. I appreciate it."  
  
"Now go! You have work to do."  
  
***  
  
"Want to talk about it?" Lucas said, walking up to where Haley was sitting.  
  
"Not particularly but I get the feeling that's not going to deter you."  
  
"Yeah you're right. What happened?"  
  
"Why are you asking me? I saw you talking to Nathan."  
  
"I was getting his side. Now I want yours so that I can pass judgment fairly. That's your fault you know?"  
  
"What's my fault?"  
  
"Me needing to get the facts before passing judgement. If you hadn't threatened me into befriending Nathan I'd just assume that it was his fault and kick his a$$. This way is a lot harder."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"What, you give your vocabulary to Nathan? I expected a better response than 'whatever'."  
  
"Look Lucas, I'm really not in the mood. If you want to be Nathan's best friend now go right ahead."  
  
"Don't be like that Haley. I care about you and I can see you're hurting. Nathan's starting grow on me too and he's also hurting. I just want to help if I can."  
  
"There's nothing you can do. You know, I really thought me and Nathan could make this work, you know be a family but one conversation with his father and he's gone."  
  
"He panicked Hales and he made a mistake. He came back."  
  
"Because you went looking for him. What happens next time? I can't go through life waiting for the next thing that's going to freak him out."  
  
"He wants to be there for you Hales. He really does. He loves you and he loves the baby and he wants to make up for getting scared and running off but you have to let him."  
  
"I appreciate what you're trying to do here Luke but it's too late. Nathan made his choice and he can't change it now." She got up.  
  
"Hales wait." he called out to her but she'd already run out of the cafeteria.  
  
***  
  
Ring Ring Ring  
  
Lucas ignored the phone and went back to his biology homework. His mom could answer it. He needed to finish his lab notes before the exam the next day.  
  
"Lucas! Phone!"  
  
"Ugh," he grunted and picked up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Lucas, it's Nathan."  
  
"Hey. Making any progress?"  
  
"Yeah. I have a plan but I'm going to need your help."  
  
"My help? What for?"  
  
"I need you to get Haley to the cinema for seven tonight."  
  
"Isn't it closed?"  
  
"Yea. Just get her there. All will be explained in due time."  
  
"Okay. Good luck."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
***  
  
"Lucas what are you doing here?"  
  
"I've come to take you out. Let's go."  
  
"I don't want to go anywhere."  
  
"Hales, I'm not going to let you wallow in self-pity. You need a distraction from all this drama. Come one, you know I'm not going to take no for an answer."  
  
Haley groaned. "Remind me again why I'm friends with you? I'll get my coat."  
  
They got in Keith's truck and Lucas pulled out of Haley's driveway. "So where are we going?"  
  
"I thought we'd see a movie." "What's playing?"  
  
"I don't know; we'll see when we get there."  
  
There were three movies showing at the small local cinema. Haley wanted to see a comedy but Lucas insisted that they go to the romance.  
  
"Since when do you like chick flicks and don't tell me it's Peyton's influence because she hates this kind of thing."  
  
"It wasn't Peyton. I just want to see this. Come on, I've already seen the one you want to watch and I know you don't want to see the horror flick. You'll probably like it."  
  
Haley threw up her arms in surrender. "Fine you win." To herself she added 'it's not like I'm going to be able to concentrate on the movie anyway.'  
  
When they walked it Haley thought it was strange that there was no one else in the theatre. "Luke, we're the only ones here."  
  
"Yeah. Weird." He shrugged. "Guess a lot of people share your opinion."  
  
"Guess so."  
  
The lights dimmed and they sat back in their seats. 'I wonder what Nathan is up to.' Lucas thought. He got he answer when instead of previews, Nathan appeared on the screen.  
  
Haley's mouth dropped open. "Oh my. what's going on here Luke?"  
  
"I can honestly say that I have no idea."  
  
"Hi Hales, guess you're wondering what I'm doing. First off, I have to thank you Luke for getting her here. Now I need you to keep her here. Thanks man, I owe you big time."  
  
"I could kill you for this Luke."  
  
"Don't be mad at Luke Hales, I needed to get you here because I didn't know how else to get you to listen to me. I know have no right to ask but please just watch this and if at the end you still don't want to have anything to do with me, I won't bother you again."  
  
A montage began to play, Nathan as a baby, holding a basketball; Nathan as a toddler learning to dribble; Nathan in the junior leagues. As the pictures faded in and out on the screen, Nathan spoke. "I don't remember a time when my dad wasn't pressuring me to be like him. Some parents read stories or sing to their unborn children, not my dad. He used to read the box scores to my mom's pregnant stomach. He told me that when I first started playing for the Ravens. I think he thought it would inspire me to be great but it only made me realize that if I wanted to please my father and make him proud I would have to be as much like him as possible. You know how I felt when I first found out Luke was my brother? I was jealous of him. Jealous because he'd never had to deal with my father's impossible expectations, never had to feel that he'd never be good enough, never has a dad who kicked his butt when he didn't play well. For a while I wished I could trade places with him. In high school I discovered the plus side to being really good at basketball, the popularity. As shallow as it is, I liked having people crowded around me, screaming my name in the stands. I got validation from their empty praise that I knew I'd never get from my dad. My envy of Luke turned into resentment. I made his life miserable not just to get him off the team but because I wanted to share my own misery with him. I figured why should I be the only one who has to hurt."  
  
The images of Nathan's childhood faded into images of him and Haley together, sitting at the docks, posing for those goofy photo booth pictures and other snapshots of their moments together. "When I met you Haley, my world changed. You were the first person who didn't give a damn how many points I scored in the last game. You didn't take any of my crap. from the very beginning I had to respect you for that. You are the person I always know I can turn to when it feels like the world is against me. I know you'll listen. I don't know when I fell in love with you, maybe I've always been in love with you. Whenever it happened, I've known for a long time that I wanted to spend forever with you."  
  
The next image was of Nathan resting his head against Haley's pregnant belly.  
  
"When I first found out we were having a baby I was thrilled. My head was telling me that we were too young and this was too huge but in my heart, I don't know, I felt calm, settled, like this was the way my life was supposed to go. I thought we'd have our happy beginning. Then my father decided to take one last thing from me. I guess my biggest fear is that I will become for our child what my father is to me, a man he or she fears and despises. My mother left that man, it would kill me if you did the same. It is killing me. I got scared and I handled it all wrong. I've had a lot of time to think Hales and I've realized some things. I'm always going to worry about becoming my father, he was too much of a force in my life for that fear not to be there. I'm learning to accept that. I may not want to become the man my father was to me but I also don't want to become the man Dan was to Lucas. I don't want to be the father who walked away. I don't want to walk away and I won't. You can break up with me Hales. You can say you want nothing to do we me but I'm not walking away. Whether you like it or not I'm going to be in my child's life. Today, tomorrow, the day I take my last breath and all the days in between. You're just going to have to live with that."  
  
Lucas was stunned. As far as grand gestures went, that was pretty good. He looked at Hales, tears were streaming down her face.  
  
"You okay?" She nodded. "I can't believe he did that. That was just so.. I have to see him. Do you know where he is?"  
  
"Right behind you." Nathan spoke softly, hesitantly.  
  
Haley stood up slowly and turned around, then threw herself against his chest. "Nathan." She sobbed.  
  
He buried his face in her hair, taking in its scent. "Haley." he whispered. "Please, please tell me I haven't lost you." He wasn't even trying to contain his emotions and let the tears fall freely down his cheeks.  
  
"You haven't lost me. Who was I kidding. I can't live without you. I've been so miserable."  
  
"You and me both." 


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

A/N This chapter is dedicated to Claddagh Ring, who never fails to leave me more praise than I probably deserve. Thank you.  
  
Chapter 22  
  
Lucas looked at his brother and best friend embracing and decided it was his cue to leave. "It looks like I'm no longer needed here. I'll call you tomorrow Haley."  
  
Haley turned away from Nathan for a moment to look at Lucas. "Yeah, ok. And Luke?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Like I told Nathan, no problem. Behave yourselves."  
  
"No promises." Nathan chuckled.  
  
Lucas groaned. "Yeah, uh don't wanna know. I'll see you two later." He walked away smiling. Everything was working out.  
  
"There's more." Nathan whispered in Haley's ear.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The movie, that wasn't all of it. I have more."  
  
"Mmmm I like the sound of that." She stroked his face with her fingertips.  
  
"Uh uh, not that kind of more, at least not until later. Come on?"  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
Ten minutes later they were at their special place, the docks. A table cloth disguised the cement table which was set with fine china and crystal glasses. A vase filled with orchids stood in the center."  
  
"Oh my.Nathan. How did you?"  
  
"I had a little help. Do you like it?"  
  
"I love it. It's beautiful."  
  
"Good. Just don't tell my mom I used her dishes. She'd kill me."  
  
"You're secret's safe with me. So what's for dinner?"  
  
"Macaroni and cheese. It's your favourite and besides that, it's the only thing I know how to make."  
  
"Haley laughed. It's perfect. Reminds me of our first date. Nathan, you didn't have to do this."  
  
"Yes I did. And there's more."  
  
"What? Nathan."  
  
"Here." He handed her a small rectangular package wrapped in gold paper.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
"Open it and see." She proceeded to carefully peel the wrapping paper away, as Nathan watched impatiently. She knew it drove him crazy that she insisted on unwrapping things without tearing the paper. The task completed, she pulled out a notebook. "What's this."  
  
"My journal. I started keeping it the day you told me you were pregnant. I had so much going on in my head and I needed an outlet for it. Then once I got over the shock I thought it'd be nice to keep a record of what I was thinking and feeling during this whole process so that when our children are grown up and graduating and getting married, we can look back on this."  
  
"That's so sweet. And you're giving me this?"  
  
"Well no, because I don't want to stop writing in it but I do want you to read it."  
  
'Are you sure? I mean a journal is a really private thing."  
  
"Yes but there is nothing in there that I don't want to share with you."  
  
"Thank you. This means so much to me."  
  
"You and our babies mean everything to me."  
  
***  
  
Late that night  
  
Haley and Nathan were in his room, wrapped up in each other's arms. He was sound asleep, the quiet sound of his breathing filled the room. Haley, on the other hand, was wide awake. Thoughts of the days events were running through her mind at a frenetic pace. She couldn't get over how much had happened. How much Nathan had done to make her see that he loved her. She glanced at the nightstand where the journal lay. She hadn't had a chance to read it yet. She slowly got out of bed and picked up the journal before moving to a chair in the corner of the room. She opened the plain blue notebook and began to read.  
  
April 10th 2004  
  
Exactly five hours and twenty-three minutes ago, my life changed forever. I feel like I've been thrown onto a roller coaster that's going 1000 miles an hour and I can never get off. I don't even know where to start. Haley's pregnant. How did that happen? I mean I know how it happened; I took sex ed but.I don't know. Everything was going so great. We were together; we were solid; we were happy. I was getting back into basketball; my dad was still out of the house. Life was good. You know just this morning I was thinking about how in control I feel now then WHAM! She didn't come to class so I called her house. Peyton told me to come over there, still not sure what she was doing there but I guess it doesn't matter much does it. When I got there Hales was on her bed, hysterical. I thought maybe something had happened to her parents or one of her brothers and sisters. Then Peyton showed me the pregnancy test and in about half a second, my whole life changed. I don't even know what to think right now, what I'm supposed to think. After Peyton left I tried to comfort Haley, you know, tell her that everything's going to be okay but I don't know that myself. All I can think of is we're in high school. We're teenagers, kids ourselves. What are we supposed to do now? Haley doesn't want to get an abortion, and I don't want her to either. That kind of surprises me honestly. Peyton had a scare last year and before we found out the results of the test, I figured if it was positive that's what we'd do but now, faced with this reality, I can't imagine it. Maybe it has something to do with me being unplanned. I mean, what if my mom had decided not to have me? What are we going to do?  
  
April 11th 2004  
  
We told our parents tonight. It wasn't an easy thing to do. I don't think I've ever been more scared then when I was sitting across from Haley's dad. He's never really liked me. I thought he was going to kill me when Haley told him. Her mom was pretty cool though. My dad was, as expected, a jerk. He thinks I should walk away like he did but I'm not him and I can't do that. Haley is the one constant in my life and I'm standing by her. My mom was great. She's the one person who's been fully supportive of our relationship from the get go and I appreciate that. We're going to need all the help we can get if we're going to get through this. We've decided to keep the baby. What it came down to is neither of us is comfortable with terminating the pregnancy or giving our baby to someone else. I'm going to be a dad. Wow, that seems a lot more real now that's it down on paper. Me, a father. I have to admit I'm really scared. I mean, I haven't exactly had the best role model growing up. What if I screw up? I can't screw up. This is too important. I'm going to be a dad.  
  
April 14th 2004  
  
Our first doctor's appointment was today. You know, I thought I'd come to terms with the idea of being somebody's dad but you know, when the doctor showed us the baby on that screen it really hit me. This is real. That baby is real and it's mine and Haley's. I couldn't believe how small it was. It's hard to believe that in a relatively short amount of time, that dot on the screen is going to be a living, breathing person that we're going to have the responsibility of raising. I'm still really scared but I also feel kind of settled, like this was supposed to happen now. Some how, some way, Haley and I are going to get through this, together.  
  
Tears were rolling down Haley's face as she read Nathan's words. It wasn't just that he really did want the babies, even in the beginning but in given her access to his most private thoughts, he had completely opened himself up to her. She wiped her eyes and kept reading. 


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

A/N I was only going to include a few of the diary entries because it seems like that could be a whole different story but a few people requested more and I really like writing them so here are a few more. On that topic, I can't fit in more entries than what's in this chapter so I was thinking, would anyone be interested in a companion story of just diary entries? Reply here if you are.  
  
Short chapter I know. Sorry. The next one will be longer.  
  
Chapter 23  
  
June 15th, 2004  
  
You know, I've got to stop doing this, fooling myself into thinking that I can be happy. I was starting to believe I could have a happy family with Haley and our baby. Yea, stupid me. I saw my father today. He said a bunch of stuff about how I'm just like him and always have been, always will be. I told him I wasn't leaving Haley and he said I didn't have to leave to be a good dad. He reminded me that I think Lucas got the good end of the stick by not having him around and that I resent him for pushing me so hard. I told him to *&^% off and he left. At first, I chalked it up to him being well, him and trying once again to make me feel like crap but then I got to thinking about it. Let's face it, I haven't been the nicest guy. I was a jerk to Peyton pretty much the whole time we were going out. I did my best to make Lucas' life miserable. Heck, I even planned to use Haley to get to Luke. How could I have even considered that. Haley is the most caring, wonderful person I've ever met. I don't deserve her. She's way too good for me. Anyway, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the stuff my father said. I mean, what if he's right? What if I push my child so much he or she learns to hate and resent me. What if I get so bad Haley kicks me out like my mom kicked my dad out. I couldn't live with myself and I couldn't live without her. I don't know what to do.  
  
June 16th 2004  
  
Oh God, how did I get here. What am I doing? I have never felt lower than I do at this moment. I have to be the lowest form of life on Earth and I'm pretty sure I can name at least a few people who would agree with me. Haley and Lucas for example. I'm at my parents' beach house, hiding. I had a dream last night, well a nightmare. It was exactly like my father said, I was yelling at my child for not playing well. I sounded just like him too. When I woke up, I saw Haley sleeping next to me, the contour of her belly barely visible under the thin cover and I panicked. I wrote her a note, saying something heartless like I couldn't be a father. Then I left. First I went to the airport but the earliest flight I could get wasn't until the end of the week. I decided to stay here until my flight. I doubt anyone will find me here. Both Haley and Lucas will be to furious to look. I am such a horrible person. I can't stop picturing her face when she reads the note. She'll be so devastated and it will be my fault. I want to be there for her, to hold her, to tell her it will be all right but I can't. I just can't. My child deserves to have a good father, a father who's going to go to all the basketball games or dance recitals to be supportive, not overbearing. He or she deserves a dad who will make him or her feel loved and important, not small and useless. I can't be that father. They're better off without me. I know that, but it's killing me. I just.I can't imagine my life without Haley. She's everything that's good in me. Without her I have nothing, I am nothing.  
  
When Nathan woke up the sun had barely begun to rise but he wasn't tired. At first he was worried when he looked beside him and didn't see Haley but then he saw her asleep in the chair. The position she was sleeping in looked very uncomfortable so he got out of bed and gently picked her up out of the chair and laid her back in the bed. She didn't even stir. He looked at the arm of the chair and noticed the journal laid open over it. He picked it up. It was open to the last entry.  
  
June 19th  
  
Haley hates me. I can't say that I blame her. I'd hate me too, I do hate myself for doing what I did to her. I may have thought I was being selfless but she's right, I should have included her in my problems. She's not speaking to me now and it scares me. Any other time we've fought I've been able to give her a cute stuffed bear or some flowers and she'd cry and then everything would be good. But this is a lot bigger than that. I can't just kiss it better and put a bandaid on it. I don't know what to do. I can't lose her. If I learned anything from my time alone at the beach house it's that.  
  
"Nathan?" Haley mumbled.  
  
"Yea?"  
  
"Why aren't you in bed?"  
  
"I was going to ask the same of you a few minutes ago but you were sound asleep. What were you doing sleeping in the chair. Am I that repulsive?"  
  
She laughed. "Not usually no. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd read your journal. It was enlightening."  
  
Nathan gulped. "You read the part about me using you didn't you?"  
  
"Yes but that wasn't very enlightening. Nathan, I was suspicious of your motives for wanting me as a tutor from the beginning. I was using you too remember, to make you get off Lucas' back. What was enlightening was how much you wanted the babies from the beginning."  
  
"That was enlightening? You really think so little of me?" He was getting a little defensive.  
  
"I didn't mean it like that. I always knew you wanted to be there for us but after reading all the stuff you said I think you were more sure about parenthood than I was in the beginning. That means a lot because I never wanted you to be with us because you thought you had to be. I wanted you to want to."  
  
"I do. More than anything. Come here and let me show you." He pulled her to him.  
  
He started to unbutton her shirt. "Nathan.." She laughed when they pulled up for air.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Nothing. I was just thinking that we haven't done this in a while, for all we spend almost every night together."  
  
"I know. Let's make up for lost time." 


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

A/N Sorry this took so long. I had a paper proposal due and on top of that I really struggled with this chapter. Enjoy. I wrote the next two chapters on the bus ride home tonight so hopefully I'll get those typed up and posted sometime tomorrow. Thanks for reading.  
  
Chapter 24  
  
Sunlight drifted into the room and awoke Nathan from sleep. He turned on his side and was momentarily gripped with panic when he didn't see Haley next to him. For one horrible moment he couldn't breathe. Then he saw the note.  
  
Calm down Nate. I haven't gone anywhere. I'm making breakfast.  
  
Haley  
  
p.s. This morning was wonderful.  
  
He pulled on some pants and a tshirt and made his way downstairs. He breathed in the scent coming from the kitchen and smiled. 'I could get used to this.' He thought to himself. "Morning." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist.  
  
"Mmmm, morning. How'd you sleep?"  
  
"Great. It's still early, what are you doing up?"  
  
"I had a craving for bacon and eggs so I thought I'd make some." She set two plates down on the table. "Sit and enjoy."  
  
He obeyed and tossed her a smirk. "Bacon and eggs huh? Well at least you're not craving pickles and ice cream."  
  
"We still have a while to go yet. Give me time. I bet I could come up with something even more disgusting than pickles and ice cream."  
  
"I suppose it won't be long before you're sending me out at all hours of the night to satisfy your latest cravings."  
  
"That won't be easy with us living on opposite sides of town. I suppose I can always call."  
  
Nathan frowned and got quiet for a moment. "You know, I've been thinking. I hate that I can't spend every night with you. The babies are going to start kicking soon; I don't want to miss that. And what if you go into labour and we're on opposite sides of town?"  
  
"Nathan, what are you getting at?"  
  
"I guess that with out current living arrangements I worry about missing stuff. It's bad enough that due to my own stupidity I nearly missed out on everything. I want to be around for the three am feedings and diaper changes. I want to be a full time dad, not one who just stops by when he can."  
  
"Nate, you're going to be a full time dad, even if we live in different houses."  
  
"It won't be the same though. I want us to be a family."  
  
Haley heart fluttered for a moment at the sound of the word 'family.' "What do you propose as a solution?"  
  
"I haven't worked it all out yet but maybe we could talk to my mom."  
  
"Talk to me about what?" Deb asked, coming into the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, hi Mom."  
  
"Good morning Deb"  
  
"Good morning." By now she was unfazed at the sight of Haley and Nathan in her kitchen, still in pyjamas. "Now, talk to me about what?"  
  
Both Deb and Haley looked at Nathan, who shifted nervously and cleared his throat. "The thing is Mom, I want to be around for everything in my children's lives. All the little moments and I can't be if Haley and the babies are living at her house and I'm here. So I was wondering...hoping actually that maybe Haley could move in here."  
  
"Nathan, I know you and Haley are going to be parents in a few short months but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable with the two of you living together under my roof. You're not married and you're too young to get married."  
  
"But Mom, what if Haley moved into one of the guest rooms. Then it wouldn't be exactly like we were living together. And we could turn another room into the nursery. This house is way too big for the two of us anyway."  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Mom, please...this is really important to me."  
  
"Yes Mrs Scott please." Haley echoed, reverting back to the more formal title.  
  
Deb looked into her son's imploring eyes and then into Haley's. Then she sighed. "Haley, I want you to call your parents and invite them over for lunch. "I'm not making any decisions until I've spoken with them."  
  
"Fair enough." Haley and Nathan agreed in unison.  
  
A few hours later  
  
"It was nice of you to invite us over Mrs Scott but I have a feeling there's more to this than lunch." Mr James said.  
  
"Please, it's Deb and you're right, there is an ulterior motive. Nathan and Haley have asked me to allow Haley to move into one of the guest rooms here...."  
  
"Absolutely not." Haley's father interrupted.  
  
"Please let me finish. Initially, I had the same reaction but Nathan made some good points. MY son wants very much to play an important role in his children's lives and he feels that if he and Haley are living on opposite sides of town, that he's bound to miss out on some important moments. I'm inclined to agree. I also believe it would be better for Haley if Nathan were around twenty-four hours a day to share the responsibility. I've never taken care of twins but I can't imagine it's an easy job, especially not for one person. You don't have to make a decision now but please think about it."  
  
"As much as I don't like the idea of the two of them cohabitating when they're not married, I suppose there's no sense in kidding ourselves since they are having these babies together. What you're saying makes sense and would probably be best for the babies. If my husband agrees, Haley can move in here."  
  
"Really Mom?" Haley asked, smiling. She looked at her father. "Dad?"  
  
"Oh all right."  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
"Yes but only because I trust Deb to make sure you sleep in separate rooms. That, and I can't say I was looking forward to hearing screaming babies all night long again." He laughed and looked at Deb in sympathy. "You'll probably be regretting this after week 1. You only had one child. We've been through it six times and sometimes I swear I can still here children wailing at night."  
  
Deb grimaced, remembering all the sleepless nights she'd spent with a very colicky Nathan. "Maybe I'll look into sound proofing my bedroom walls."  
  
Both Haley and Nathan watched the exchange with a degree of unease. Neither was sure what to make of the blossoming friendship between her parents and his mom.  
  
"One more thing, Deb isn't going to be your on-call babysitter. You're not going to be leaving the babies with her any time you don't want to deal with them. You've made your bed, now you're going to have to lie in it..." realizing the potential connotations of the expression he added "separately of course."  
  
"That's right," agreed Haley's mom. "As grand-parents we will be more than happy to help out and spoil them rotten but you two are the parents here, not us."  
  
"We know," said Nathan, making a point of looking each adult in the eyes. "Thank you for trusting us. So when can Haley move in?"  
  
Deb laughed, Nathan never had been known for patience. "You can start tomorrow."  
  
"Really?" Nathan looked just like a child on Christmas morning. "Thanks Mom."  
  
"Why don't you and Haley go over to our house to pack." Mrs James suggested.  
  
"Honey are you sure that's such a good idea?"  
  
"Seriously dear, this is the safest possible time to leave them alone together. It's not like she's going to get pregnant again now."  
  
Deb suppressed a laugh. "Go on you two. If Haley is anything like I was at her age, you have a lot of work to do."  
  
Later on, alone in Haley's room  
  
"So that was kind of weird." Haley said. She was sitting on the floor, sorting things into boxes. Nathan sat across from her, trying to help.  
  
"That's one way of putting it. I never pictured my mom and your parents becoming friends."  
  
"I know. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing."  
  
"Well at least they're letting you move in."  
  
"True. Are you sure you want to live with me? I mean you're going to have to put up with all my annoying habits on a daily basis."  
  
"Yeah, and you have so many of them," he laughed when Haley glared at him. "But since I plan on living with you for the rest of my life, I might as well get used to them now."  
  
Haley just stared at him. "What?"  
  
"You're not really surprised are you? I love you. I'm always going to love you. I know we're too young now but I have no doubt that one day I'm going to slip a ring on your finger and watch you walk down the aisle in a beautiful dress."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Of course. Why? You don't see us together in the future?"  
  
"Of course I do. I just...I didn't think you thought about it. Most sixteen year old guys don't think about marriage."  
  
"This one does. Are you crying?"  
  
"No," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. 


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

A/N Wow, twenty-five chapters without one months-long break between updates. I'm pretty proud of myself. I have a tendency to get really into stories for a while and then leave them for long periods of time. Must be all the great feedback. This will be the first of two updates tonight. Unfortunately I probably won't be able to write more until the end of next week because I have three midterms. Hopefully this will tide you over.  
  
Chapter Twenty-Five  
  
"Hey Peyton!" Haley cornered her friend on the street. "I was hoping to run into you."  
  
"Hi Haley. What for?"  
  
"I need a favor."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"I'm moving into Nathan's."  
  
"You're what?!" Peyton interrupted. "How on Earth did you convince Deb or your parents to let that happen?'  
  
"We're living in separate rooms. Nathan wanted to have me and the babies close by, you know, so he doesn't miss anything important."  
  
"Wow, I never thought I'd see the day that Nathan Scott got soft. SO what's the favor?"  
  
"Well I've packed all my stuff but I need help moving it over there and unpacking it. I was hoping if I bribed you with free food you'd be willing to volunteer."  
  
"Sure. Have you asked Luke?"  
  
"No, I was going to but then I thought it might be awkward you know. Plus he's going to flip when he finds out I'm moving into Nathan's house."  
  
"Maybe but if he got over Nathan getting you pregnant this will be a piece of cake right. Why don't I ask him? It will be good for the four of us to spend some time together."  
  
"All right. So how are you and Luke anyway?"  
  
"Good. We're taking things slow this time, you know, so there's not so much pressure and drama. He really does make me happy."  
  
"Good. You both deserve it."  
  
"Anyway, speaking of Luke, I'm supposed to go meet him. What time do you want us there tomorrow?" ""Um.say seven."  
  
Peyton chuckled. "You're getting Nathan out of bed before noon on a weekend when there's no practice? Bet he'll love that."  
  
Haley smiled. "He's going to have to get used to it. Might as well start now."  
  
"True. See you tomorrow."  
  
Ten minutes later, Brooke walked up to Haley. "Tutor- um Haley, you got a minute?"  
  
"I guess. What do you want Brooke?" Her tone was icy.  
  
"I deserved that. I know what I did was wrong and I have no right to ask your forgiveness but I'm asking anyway. I want to be your friend and Nathan's friend. I mean, who else is going to give those babies fashion advice? Come on.please you can't hate me forever. You're too nice for that."  
  
"But I can try. Why now Brooke?"  
  
"Because I was sitting at home alone and it hit me that I have alienated everyone that means anything to me. I mean sure my fellow cheerleaders still envy me and most of the guys still want to sleep with me and a few months ago that'd have been enough but it feels empty now. I see the friendship developing between you and Peyton and even Lucas and Nathan and it makes me jealous. I want to be a part of that circle."  
  
Haley looked at Brooke carefully. The girl really did seem sincere. "All right. Peyton and Lucas and Nathan are all helping me move into Nathan's house tomorrow. You can help if you want."  
  
Brooke initially cringed at the idea of manual labour than shrugged. "Okay. Wait.you're moving in with Nathan?"  
  
"Long story and if you behave, maybe I'll tell you tomorrow. In the meantime, not a word to anyone."  
  
"I swear. I won't breathe a word."  
  
"Oh, and we're starting at seven sharp so be at my house on time."  
  
Brooke groaned. "All right."  
  
The Next Day  
  
Brooke arrived at Haley's house at five to seven, without makeup and her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail.  
  
"Good morning Brooke." Haley said when she answered the door.  
  
"Ugh. I was barely aware that there was such a time as seven am on the weekend. How can you be so cheerful this early?"  
  
"I sued to meet Nathan at the docks at seven for tutoring every morning. This is practically like sleeping in. Come on it. I've made coffee."  
  
"Oh thank God. I tried making some at home but I couldn't figure out all the knobs and buttons and stuff."  
  
Haley laughed. "Nathan's upstairs showering. Lucas and Peyton should be here any minute."  
  
"Your parents let Nathan spend the night?"  
  
"Are you kidding? I convinced them that it would be more convenient if he slept here so that we could get an early start. They made him sleep on the couch."  
  
"And it wasn't a comfortable couch either." Nathan said, coming down the stairs. "I had a spring poking into my back all night."  
  
"Aww, poor baby." Haley said, rubbing his neck. "That better?"  
  
"A little. Brooke, I didn't know you were coming."  
  
"Haley invited me. I hope that's okay."  
  
"Sure it's fine. Fewer boxes for me to carry."  
  
The door opened and Lucas walked in, his arm draped around Peyton's shoulders. "You better appreciate this Hales." He yawned.  
  
"Of course I do. The boxes are all in my room. We might as well get started." She lead them upstairs and went to pick up a box but Nathan stopped her.  
  
"I've got that."  
  
"It's okay Nathan."  
  
"No it's not. I don't want you lifting heavy boxes. Back me up here Luke?"  
  
Luke could tell Haley was fuming; he knew his best friend hated people doing things for her. "I'm staying out of this."  
  
"Come on Haley." Brooke stepped in. "You're being given a chance to stand around giving us orders while we do all the work. If I were you, I'd just enjoy it. You have to endure all kinds of discomforts and inconveniences with this pregnancy, might as well milk the benefits for all their worth."  
  
Haley looked at Nathan and saw that he wouldn't be backing down. "Fine. Nathan, since you're so determined to be chivalrous, why don't you take that box over there." She pointed to a box labelled 'hard-covers'.  
  
Nathan smiled. "Sure." He lifted the box, trying not to let on how heavy it was.  
  
Luke laughed.  
  
"I wouldn't laugh If I were you Luke. You can have that box." She pointed to the one labelled 'rock collection'.  
  
This time Brook and Peyton both laughed. Lucas glared at them but picked up the box.  
  
"Well that was fun.' Brooke grinned. "What do you want us to do?"  
  
"You know, we could be mean and make the guys do all the work while we go over and organize my new room."  
  
"That's evil." Peyton said. "I love it."  
  
"Me too," agreed Brooke. "I'll drive."  
  
Lucas and Nathan watched the girls drive away. "I get the feeling they've just stuck us with all the work." Nathan laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I figured that. Well, let's get this over with."  
  
Several hours later Haley was all moved in and unpacked. The five of them sat on the floor, exhausted.  
  
"I'm starving," commented Haley.  
  
"You're always starving," joked Nathan.  
  
"Hey, I'm eating for three here, what's your excuse?"  
  
"Good point. Why don't we order a couple of pizzas, have a little room- warming party?"  
  
"That's a good idea," Luke agreed. The girls nodded.  
  
Nathan picked up the phone. "Okay, what do we want? Everyone can pick two toppings." "Hmm.anchovies and pickles," said Haley.  
  
The others cringed. "How about Haley gets her own pizza?" Nathan suggested.  
  
"Good idea," said Lucas. "Bacon and pineapple."  
  
"Mushroom and green peppers," added Peyton.  
  
"Tomatoes and olives," Brooke contributed.  
  
"And I'll have pepperoni and sausage. So how about we get two mediums, one bacon, pineapple, pepperoni and sausage and one mushroom, green peppers, tomatoes and olives and then a small anchovies and pickles for Hales."  
  
"Medium for me too please." Nathan looked at her. "They're hungry," she shrugged.  
  
"Okay," he dialled the number. "Yeah, hi can I get three medium pizzas to be delivered please. One with bacon, pineapple, sausage and pepperoni, one with mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes and olives and one with anchovies and pickles. Yeah you heard right, anchovies and pickles. Don't ask. Forty minutes? Okay thanks."  
  
"They didn't think much of your pizza."  
  
"Meh, everybody's a critic."  
  
"I can't believe how much work we did in one day. Whare's the babies' room going to be?" Peyton asked.  
  
"Next door, between mine and Nathan's rooms. That way they'll keep us both up at night."  
  
"You should put the crib on Nathan's side." Brooke suggested.  
  
"Good idea." She grinned at Nathan.  
  
Nathan threw up his arms in defeat. "I'm out numbered. Luke, help me out here."  
  
"Once again, I'm staying out of this."  
  
"Some brother you are. Have it your way but don't think I won't call you at three in the morning just out of spite."  
  
Lucas shrugged. "I'm a sound sleeper."  
  
Haley laughed. "He is. The guy could sleep through a tornado."  
  
"So while we're waiting, how about a game of truth or dare?" Brooke suggested.  
  
"I don't know Brooke," cautioned Nathan.  
  
"Come on. It'll be fun. I'll be good, I promise."  
  
"I'm in," said Haley.  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Yeah, I'll play."  
  
"All right then," conceded Nathan. "Brooke, you go first."  
  
"My pleasure. Nathan, truth or dare?"  
  
Nathan thought for a moment and decided there wasn't much about him that the other people in the room didn't already know. "Truth."  
  
"What's you're biggest regret."  
  
"Leaving Haley." He answered without hesitation.  
  
"What? When did you."  
  
"Several weeks ago now. Long story but I freaked and was going to skip town. Lucas talked some sense into me."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"That makes it my turn right? Luke, truth or dare?"  
  
"Uh.dare." Lucas responded, not quite prepared for what sort of question Nathan might ask.  
  
"I dare you to read some of this." He pulled one of Haley's pregnancy books off the shelf and flipped to the chapter he wanted. "Start here."  
  
Lucas started reading, occasionally cringing and even ewwing at some points. When he'd read enough, he turned to Haley. "how have you not killed him yet?"  
  
Haley laughed. "Just be grateful. I made him read the whole thing."  
  
Nathan shuddered at the memory. "And believe me it wasn't pretty. Your turn Luke."  
  
"Okay. Brooke, truth or dare." "Dare."  
  
"I dare you to call Jake and tell him you're secretly in love with him."  
  
"What?" Brooke went bright red and glared at Peyton. "You told him?"  
  
"It was an accident. Come on Brooke, you've been dared to do way worse than this." She handed her the phone.  
  
"Fine." She dialled Jake's number. "Hi Jake? It's Brooke. Um. there's soemthing I've been wanting to tell you. See, the thing is, I kind of have feelings for you. You don't have to believe me or anything but I think I kind of love you." As soon as the words were out, the hung up the phone. "Oh God."  
  
"See, that wasn't so bad?"  
  
"Are you kidding? He's going to think I'm nuts."  
  
"Brooke, he already knows you're nuts."  
  
Brook feigned insult. "And you call yourself a friend, hmpf. Haley, truth or dare."  
  
"Uh.dare."  
  
"I was hoping you'd say that. I dare you to let me choose an outfit for you."  
  
Haley nodded, figuring she got off easy. "Peyton?"  
  
"Truth."  
  
"Does Lucas really drool?"  
  
"Like a teething baby." Peyton laughed. "You didn't know that?"  
  
"Nope, always heard rumours though."  
  
"Hey, that's not fair."  
  
"Nathan, truth or dare."  
  
"Dare."  
  
"I dare you to sing Haley the song you told me makes you think of her."  
  
Nathan glared at Peyton.  
  
"Just sing it Nathan. Here," she picked up the guitar Haley'd bought but never learned to play. "I'll accompany you."  
  
Haley took a deep breathe and began to sing.  
  
Oh, oh, oh, oh -  
  
It must have been cold there in my shadow,  
  
to never have sunlight on your face.  
  
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.  
  
You always walked a step behind.  
  
So I was the one with all the glory,  
  
while you were the one with all the strength.  
  
A beautiful face without a name for so long.  
  
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.  
  
Did you ever know that you're my hero,  
  
and everything I would like to be?  
  
I can fly higher than an eagle,  
  
for you are the wind beneath my wings.  
  
It might have appeared to go unnoticed,  
  
but I've got it all here in my heart.  
  
I want you to know I known the truth, of course I know it.  
  
I would be nothing without you.  
  
Did you ever know that you're my hero?  
  
You're everything I wish I could be.  
  
I could fly higher than an eagle,  
  
for you are the wind beneath my wings.  
  
Did I ever tell you you're my hero?  
  
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.  
  
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,  
  
for you are the wind beneath my wings,  
  
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.  
  
Oh, the wind beneath my wings.  
  
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.  
  
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.  
  
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.  
  
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.  
  
Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,  
  
so high I almost touch the sky.  
  
Thank you, thank you,  
  
thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.  
  
(now try to imagine Nathan/James Lafferty singing that song ()  
  
As Nathan was singing the last chorus the doorbell rang. "Pizza's here."  
  
A few minutes later, they were gathered around the kitchen table eating pizzas.  
  
"You know what I was thinking?" Brooke asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't think I've ever played a game of truth or dare that tame."  
  
"I know," said Nathan, putting his arm around Haley. "I guess we're getting old." 


	26. Chapter Twenty Six

Chapter 26  
  
Haley is now six months pregnant but because she's carrying twins, looks like she could give bith any day. SHe and the other teens are about to start their junior year of high school. Haley's feeling very nervous because although most of her classmates already knew she was pregnant before school let out, she wasn't sure how they'd response to her really looking pregnant, not to mention what was going to happen once the babies were born.  
  
"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the preacher said. "You may kiss the bride."_  
  
Needing no further instruction, Nathan cupped Haley's face in his hands and kissed her. The guests all clapped and cheered. When they came up for air he looked down at his two daughters who were standing on the other side of Haley. They were three and were wearing frilly white dresses with light blue in their dark brown hair. They'd spent the whole ceremony playing with their bouquets of flowers. Haley had periodically told them to stop but Nathan just thought it was adorable. His little girls could do no wrong in his eyes.  
  
He took a moment to look aoround at the other people who had come together for them. Lucas stood to his left. Despite their hostile past, his older brother had been the only choice for his best man. He had been both a good brother and friend. Peyton and Brooke stood by Haley, dressed in strapless, light-blue gowns. Haley had agonized over who to pick as her maid of honour. She had come to consider both Brooke and Peyton as her best friends, well besides Luke of course and she hadn't been able to convince him to don a light-blue dress instead of a tux. She'd finally decided to have them both. Deb sat in the front pew, grinning from ear to ear. Nothing made her happier than knowing her son was married to Haley. Ever since she'd moved in with them, Deb had considered her a daughter. Dan, the man he'd once called 'Dad' was conspicuously absent. He had steadfastly refused to acknowledge Haley and the twins. he lived just on the other side of town but Nathan hadn't spoken to him since just adter the birth of his daughters. He mostly shrugged it off but it did hurt that his own father wasn't at his wedding. Keith was there though, sitting next to Karen. Since Nathan and Dan's estrangement, Keith had come to play a similar role in Nathan's life to the one he'd always played in Luke's. Nathan was grateful for that.  
  
The recessional music began to play. Nathan lifted one of his girls into a piggy-back and Haley took the other, then the family ran out of the church together._  
  
"Nathan! Nathan wake up!." Haley yelled, running into his bedroom.  
  
"Huh?" He said groggily. "Is it seven already?"  
  
"No. The babies are kicking."  
  
"What?" He was instantly awake.  
  
"Yeah. Here, feel." She placed his hand over her abdomen. "Wow. That's amazing. Does it hurt?"  
  
"Kind of. It's good pain though. It really makes it real now. There are actually two little people growing inside of me."  
  
"Active ones too."  
  
"No kidding. I don't think I'm going to get any sleep tonight."  
  
"I could keep you company."  
  
"I'd like that."  
  
"Come here." He patted the bed.  
  
She nestled in beside him. "I can't velieve we only have three more months until the babies come. Nine months seemed so long in the beginning."  
  
"I know. The time's just flown by. Our appointment's at three tomorrow right?"  
  
"Yea. And I know you don't want two know what we're having. It's okay."  
  
"It doesn't matter any more. I already know."  
  
"What do you mean."  
  
"We're having two girls. I saw it in my dream."  
  
"But that was a dream Nathan."  
  
"No. It was a glimpse into the future. Trust me, we're having girls."  
  
"So can we find out for sure in the sonogram tomorrow?" Haley asked hopefully. She'd been dying to know but Nathan had been insistant on being surprised.  
  
"Sure. Then you'll know I'm right."  
  
The following day at the doctor's  
  
"So how are we feeling?"  
  
"Good. The babies kicked last night."  
  
"Good. have you been feeling them move more today?"  
  
"Yes. They've been pretty active."  
  
"Good. Your weight is right where it's supposed to be."  
  
"I feel huge."  
  
"That's normal. You're having twins so you've naturally put on more weight than you would with a single birth. Smaller-framed woman often look and feel bigger. So first I'm going to check your blood pressure and then we'll do the ultrasound. I can tell that's what daddy's waiting for." She smiled at Nathan.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Blood pressure is good so let's get you up on the bed now. You know the drill."  
  
Haley lay on her back and lifted the gown. The doctor put the jelly on her belly and began to move the wand around.  
  
"Have we decided if we want to know the sex?'  
  
Nathan nodded. "She talked me into it."  
  
"Okay. Let's see what we can find out. Well there's one girl and...yep two girls. Congratulations, you're having twin daughters."  
  
Nathan looked at Haley and grinned. "See, I told you so."  
  
"Well everything looks good. Keep doing what you're doing and I'll see you all back in two weeks."  
  
"All right."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Nathan couldn't stop grinning. He'd initially thought he'd like a son but since his dream he'd been thrilled at the prospect of having daughters.  
  
Haley couldn't help but laugh at the goofy look on his face. She was tickled pink to be having daughters but she'd thought all fathers wanted sons.  
  
"You're really happy?" She asked.  
  
"Are you kidding. I've never been happier. Just think of all the boyfriends I'm going to get to enjoy scaring away. It'll be great."  
  
Later, Haley's sitting at the docks when Brooke walks up.  
  
"Hey what's the matter? You look worried."  
  
Haley looked up from the notebook she was writing in. "Huh? Oh hi Brooke. I'm fine."  
  
"Liar. Come on you can tell me."  
  
"Well seeing as there are only three more months until the babies come, I thought I'd make a list of all the things we need."  
  
"Well that's a good idea."  
  
"Yeah except there's so much. And we need two of everything too. How are Nathan and me going to afford all this stuff?"  
  
"You'll manage Haley. It'll be okay, I promise. I saw Peyton earlier, she said you guys found out you're having girls."  
  
"Yeah. I'm surprised you didn't hear Nathan shouting it from the rooftops."  
  
"I take it he's excited."  
  
"That would be an understatement. They're going to have them wrapped around their fingers."  
  
"As they should. So you're going to name one of them Brooke aren't you?" She grinned.  
  
"Haha but that does bring up another thing I've been thinking about. They are going to need names. That's a lot of pressure. What if we pick ones they end up hating?"  
  
"Most kids do hate their names at some time or another but you learn to love them. You'll pick perfect names." Her cell phone rang. "Gotta go. Relax Haley, everything's going to work out."  
  
"Thanks Brooke."  
  
Later on, Brooke is talking with Peyton  
  
"So I was thinking."  
  
"Uh oh," Peyton teased. "You should really be careful about that."  
"Funny. No seriously, I saw Haley early and she's really worried about getting everything they need for the twins. So I was thinking, we should throw her a surprise baby shower."  
  
"Isn't it a little early?"  
  
"Maybe but this way they can get the nursery all ready. Come on, it's the perfect excuse to go shopping for cute baby things."  
  
"All right I'm in. You know, we should talk to people we know, see if they have any baby stuff they're willing to give away."  
  
"That's brilliant. Then once we've done that we can tell people we invite to the shower what they still need."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Brooke and Peyton split up to put their plan into motion. Peyton heads Karen and Luke's.  
  
"Hi Peyton. I'm sorry, Luke's out playing basketball with some of the guys."  
  
"I know. Actually I wanted to talk with you."  
  
A worried look crossed Karen's face. "Oh all right. Come on in."  
  
They sat down at the kitchen table. "So what did you want to talk to me about."  
  
"Peyton and I want to throw Haley a baby shower but first we want to see if anyone has any used baby stuff they could give to them, you know, so they don't have to buy as much stuff."  
  
"That's a really good idea Peyton. I kept almost all of Luke's old things; I guess I never quite gave up on the idea of having another child. They're welcome to all of it."  
  
"That's great, thanks."  
  
Meanwhile, Brooke is knocking on Jake's door.  
  
"Uh hi Brooke." Jake answers awkwardly, they hadn't really talked since her little phone call during the truth or dare game.  
  
"Hi Jake. Don't worry, I'm not here to profess my undying love for you or anything. I'm just wondering if you have anything Jenny's not using anymore that you could give to Haley and Nathan."  
  
"Oh, uh yeah. I just got her a new car seat so they can have the old one and there's a big box of clothes she's grown out of. I wish I could give them more but she's still using a lot of it."  
  
"That's okay. We're just trying to take some of the weight off. When I talked to Haley earlier she was pretty panicked about everything they need to get."  
  
"I understand where she's coming from. You never think about how much babies need until you have one yourself."  
  
"I'm hoping not to test that theory for a while yet."  
  
"Good idea."  
  
There was an awkward pause. "Uh, so I'll see you later."  
  
"Uh yeah okay. By Brooke."  
  
By the end of the day, Peyton and Brooke had managed to find two cribs, a change table, a rocking chair, two car seats, a bunch of toys and other little things and boxes of clothes.  
  
"Well, we did pretty good," Brooke said, proud of herself.  
  
"We sure did. We still need one of those double strollers but you and Lucas and me can all go in together on that."  
  
"That's a good idea. Other than that I thing we've got all of the big bases covered. DO you want to do the invitations for the shower?"  
  
"Sure. How about three weeks from Saturday? That'll give people ample time to shop."  
  
"That sounds good. And speaking of shopping, you and I can hit the mall tomorrow afternoon."  
  
Peyton groaned. "Shopping with Brooke. Ugh."  
  
"Yeah but this is baby stuff shopping. It'll be fun."


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter 27  
  
A/N This story is winding down now, I'm going to be ending it with the birth of the babies but I'm thinking of writing a sequel about how Haley and Nathan cope with parenthood at their young age.  
  
"Do I really have to go to this thing?" Lucas whined to Peyton. They were in Peyton's car, on their where to the Scott house to set up for Haley and Nathan's baby shower.  
  
"Yes you do. I already told you, Brooke and I thought it would be fun to make the shower co-ed. We have been planning this for weeks and I'm not going to let you mess it up. Besides, Nathan, Jake, Keith and even Tim are going to be suffering right along with you."  
  
Lucas groaned. "Do I want to know how you convinced Tim to come?"  
  
"Brooke asked him and you know he'll do anything she asks."  
  
"I know. It's pathetic. Especially since she and Jake are sort of a thing."  
  
"Yeah. I never would have pictured Brooke dating a single dad but they seem to work."  
  
"Yeah. Guess opposites attract sometimes."  
  
"You're thinking of Haley and Nathan aren't you? You know Luke, I just want to say that I'm really proud of you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"You've really come a long way since you first found out Haley was pregnant. I really thought you were going to beat Nathan to a pulp the first chance you got."  
  
"Hey it's not like I didn't try."  
  
"I know. I'm just impressed at how you and Nate have somehow managed to find some common ground and let go of your differences. It means the world to Haley you know."  
  
"Yeah I know. I guess I've realized Nathan's not such a bad guy after all. I mean look at how excited he is about those babies. The other day I found him reading one of those name books before practice. Whitey's given up on trying to keep him focused. The guy has baby brain."  
  
"It's cute though. I can't wait to see what they look like, if they're identical of fraternal. Not to mention what their names are going to be." "Yeah. Hales says they're having trouble agreeing on names. I think she's starting to wonder if they'll have find two they both like."  
  
"I'm pretty sure that when the time comes they'll have the perfect names. Pity they're both girls or they could name one of them Lucas."  
  
"Haha. Yeah, that would happen. We're here." She pulled the car into the driveway. "Get the stuff out of the trunk would you?"  
  
"Now I get why you insisted on me coming along. You needed a pack mule."  
  
"Just shut up and get it," she said half-seriously as she walked towards the house carrying a few bags.  
  
"Yea yea."  
  
They knocked on the door and Deb answered. "Hello Peyton, Lucas, come on in."  
  
"Thanks Mrs...Deb."  
  
"Everything's just about set. Karen said she'd be here with the food in about an hour; Brooke is already at work decorating the back yard."  
  
"Where are Nathan and Haley?"  
  
"Jake asked them to baby-sit Jenny this morning. He'll make sure they come back here right after."  
  
"Wow, what's left for us to do?"  
  
Deb laughed. "Plenty. We've only got a few hours."  
  
"I'm going to go help Brooke with the decorations."  
  
After she left the room, Lucas turned to Deb. Though there was still some awkwardness between them, with Dan out of the picture and the friendship between her and her mom cemented, he'd accepted that Deb wasn't such a bad person after all. "So who all is coming to this thing?"  
  
"At final count it was you, Peyton, Brooke, your mom, Haley's parents, Jake, Tim, some girls from the cheer team, a few friends of Haley's from the tutoring center, and me."  
  
"Wow, you guys sure went all out on this shower thing."  
  
"Brooke and Peyton did most of the work. I just offered the use of my backyard. They knew how stressed out Haley and Nathan were about getting everything they need and they wanted to help."  
  
***  
  
"Well I think that's it." Brooke said triumphantly. "The food is here, decorations are up. The guests have arrived. Now all we need are our mommy and daddy to be."  
  
"Jake just called, said they should be on their way."  
  
"Was that a brilliant plan or what for getting them out of the house. I knew they wouldn't say no to baby-sitting Jenny."  
  
"It was pretty perfect. What I can't believe is how excited Brooke Davis is getting about a party that isn't going to have any alcohol involved."  
  
"What can I say, I've calmed down a little in my old age."  
  
"Right, old age."  
  
"They're here!" Somebody shouted. "Get ready."  
  
"Jenny's sure getting big." Haley was saying as she walked in the house with Nathan.  
  
"I know. It seems like only yesterday we were just finding out about her. Hey, where is everyone."  
  
"I don't know but the back door is open."  
  
As they walked through the back door everyone jumped up adnd yelled surprise?"  
  
Haley yelped. "What is this?"  
  
"Your baby shower." Brooke announced, clapping her hands.  
  
"Wait," said Nathan. "If this is a baby shower why are there guys here."  
  
"Oh, it's coed."  
  
Nathan groaned and Haley smacked him upside the head. "Hey, that hurt."  
  
"It's my baby shower and I'll hit who I want to." She grinned.  
  
"Okay Nathan, Haley, you guys sit over here and we'll start the games."  
  
After the games, they got ready to open presents.  
  
"Open this one first." Peyton said, handing them a large box. "It's from Lucas, Brooke and me."  
  
Haley pulled at the paper, revealing a double stroller. "Wow. This is awesome. You guys shouldn't have done this."  
  
"We wanted to. And this one is just from me." Peyton passed Nathan a smaller package. It was a beautiful painting of a pair of frogs sitting on a pond. "Oh my gosh Peyt it's beautiful, and a lot more cheerful than your usual work."  
  
"I know. See, not a touch of black."  
  
"I'm so proud."  
  
"This one is from your mom and me." Haley's Dad said. Nathan took the envelope from his hand and opened it. "Oh my, it's a check for a thousand dollars." Nathan gasped. He looked to Haley's parents. "You didn't need to."  
  
"I know and I know I've been pretty hard on you son but I'm really impressed by the way you treat my daughter. You're going to be a great dad."  
  
"Thanks." Nathan teared up a little. It was one of the first times he'd been called son when he wasn't being pressured.  
  
By the time all the gifts had been opened, Nathan and Haley had almost everything they were going to need. The both looked at the pile of gifts in amazement. "Wow. We have some really great friends."  
  
Everyone enjoyed the shower. It was a great time to toss out suggestions for names and catch up with friends. Some of the guys slipped away to play some ball on Nathan's driveway but Nathan stuck by Haley's side.  
  
"You can go play Nate, I don't mind really."  
  
"I know but I want to be here with you." He kissed her forehead, causing all the female guests so say "Awwww."  
  
***  
  
"The party was winding down and Haley was helping with the clean up. She picked up a vase of flowers and put a hand to her belly, letting out a small cry.  
  
Nathan!" She called out, her voice panicked.  
  
He was at her side in an instant. "What is it?" "I don't know Nathan but something isn't right." 


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter 28  
  
"What do you mean Hales? What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm not sure but I think I'm in labour." Haley was starting to panic. She still had more than two months left in her pregnancy. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't happening.  
  
What? How is that possible? You're not even seven months. It's okay. We'll go to the hospital. Everything will be fine." Nathan was trying desperately not to let Haley see his panic. "Luke! I need to take Haley to the hospital. Grab my keys from the table behind you."  
  
"Sure." Luke tossed Nathan the keys. "Wait, why are you going to the hospital?" He asked, rushing over to Haley.  
  
"She says she's in labour. We have to get to the hospital right away."  
  
"Right." Luke looked at Haley, who wasn't talking. Her face was white. He'd never seen his best friend look so scared. "I'm going to go get her parents. We'll follow you there." He suggestion, kowing that Haley would probably want her parents to be there."  
  
"Yeah. Thanks man."  
  
Nathan helped Haley into the car and drove off. Lucas followed quickly with Haley's parents. He told his mom and Deb what was going on and asked that they just tell the guests that Nathan and Haley left early. He figured they didn't need to have anyone else panicking, they were doing enough of that on their own.  
  
Nathan had to keep reminding both Haley and himself to breathe. The car ride to the hospital was quiet. Both was afraid to say what the other was thinking, that they're children were in serious danger. Nathan struggled to keep his expression calm; he had to keep it together for Haley. If he lost it they'd be in big trouble.  
  
After a seemingly endless drive, they arrived at the possible. Nathan stoped the car and ran to the passenger side to open the door. He helped Haley out and they walked quickly into the emergency room.  
  
"Somebody! I need a doctor!" Nathan yelled. An orderly brought a wheelchair over to Haley that she gratefully sat down in.  
  
"Sir, what's the matter?" A nurse asked gently.  
  
"My...my girlfriend. I think she's in labor. It's too early."  
  
"Calm down sir." How far along is she?" "27 weeks. She's having twins"  
  
"Take her to curtain three." A doctor yelled. "And some page NICU stat! Get someone down here."  
  
Nathan could only watch as Haley was wheeled away. Minutes later, Lucas ran in with Haley's parents. "How is she? What's happening?"  
  
Nathan shrugged, "I don't know. They took her. No one's told me anything. Lucas, I feel so helpless. I know she's scared and there's nothing I can do."  
  
"There is something you can do, you can stay calm. Haley needs you to be strong for her right now."  
  
"Lucas is right son," Mr James said, putting his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "All we can do is wait."  
  
"How about I go and get everyone some coffee." Lucas suggested. Without waiting for an answer, he headed off in the direction of the cafeteria.  
  
He didn't want to let on but he'd needed to get away. He needed to be there for Nathan and Haley's parents. He couldn't afford to panic. He could't let on that he was as scared as they were.  
  
About ten minutes later Karen and Deb came running in with Peyton and Brooke in tow. Nathan had been somewhat holding it together until that point but when his mom pulled him into a hug, the floodgates opened and he cried into her shoulder, not caring that everyone was watching. He felt like he was five years old again and had just scraped his knee, only this was much bigger than a scrape.  
  
"Shhh shhh, it's okay, it's okay. Let it out Nathan, let it out." Deb soothed. She lead her son to a nearby couch and sat down, having him rest his head on her lap like she used to when he was younger. She stroked his hair and thought of how young he seemed at that moment. It was a strange thought given that they were there because he was going to be a father in the near future, hopefully not in the too near future.  
  
"So do we know what's happening?" Karen asked Lucas.  
  
"I don't know. When we got here they'd already taken her to an examining room. No one's told us anything."  
  
"Nathan doesn't seem to be handling this well."  
  
"He was doing pretty good up until now. I think he really needed his mom. He feels pretty helpless right now."  
  
"I can imagine. I saw you trying to comfort him when we came in. You two have sure come a long way."  
  
"Yea I know. So much of our feud was about being childish and immature and we've both grown up a lot these last few months. It was time to let go." He noticed his mom staring at him. "What?"  
  
"It's just, you really do seem so old now, like you truly have left not only childhood but adolescence behind you. I'm not quite ready to think of you as a grown up yet. I mean, you're going to be an uncle soon."  
  
"Yea I know. Uncle Lucas. It still feels kinda weird. I just hope I have a little more time to get used to it."  
  
"Yea."  
  
"Anyone here for Haley James?" The doctor walked into the waiting room."  
  
Nathan jumped up. "I'm the father. Please, are the babies all right?"  
  
"She did go into labor prematurely but we managed to halt it for the time being. However she could go into labour again at any time. In order to try and prevent that we're going to keep her here on 100% bed rest until the babies are born. They're still very small and we want to prolong the pregnancy for as long as we possibly can."  
  
"But they're all right? Can I see her?"  
  
"So far, all three seem to be in good shape. We're keeping a very close eye on things. They're moving her up to OB right now, once she's settled in you can see her one at a time. Nurse Johnson here will take you all up."  
  
"Okay. Thank you doctor."  
  
***  
  
"Hey." Nathan said as he walked into Haley's room. She was lying in bed on her left side, in order to help prevent labor.  
  
"Hi," she managed a weak smile.  
  
"How are you doing?"  
  
"Relieved that they stopped labor but I'm not really looking forward to lying like this for two months."  
  
"It'll go by fast and it will be worth it when we have two happy healthy babies in the end."  
  
"Yeah. I really hope they're okay. You know what's weird?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, we didn't plan them, we didn't think we wanted them. I mean, when I found out I was pregnant I thought it was the end of the world; you saw that. But now... now I can't imagine what I would do if anything happened to them."  
  
"I know what you mean. I was thinking about that too while we were waiting for them to tell us something. I've never been so scared in all my life. Now I think I have an idea of what parents went through whenever I fell out of a tree or stayed out all night. Remind me to apologize to my mom for all those years of worry."  
  
"That's a good idea."  
  
"Speaking of my mom, she's here, along with your parents, Lucas and his mom and Peyton and Brooke."  
  
"Oh wow. They didn't need to do that."  
  
"That's what I told them but they said they wanted to be there for us. The doctor dais you could only have one visitor at a time. Who do you want to see first?"  
  
"How about my mom? There's nothing like being in labor to make you want your mommy."  
  
"Okay. I'll go get her. I'll see you later okay. I'm right outside if you need me." He kissed her on the forehead and walked out the door.  
  
***  
  
A few hours later Peyton, Brooke, Karen, Deb and Haley's parents all headed to their respective homes. Nathan insisted on staying at the hospital. He refused to leave Haley's side for more than a minute. The doctor said that as long as the hospital didn't need the bed, Nathan could sleep in Haley's room. It wasn't at all uncommon for father's in this situation to want to stick close by.  
  
***  
  
Lucas met Peyton and Brooke and some other friends outside the school before class. He had something important to discuss with them. "Okay guys, bet you're all wondering why I made you come to school early?"  
  
Everyone groaned.  
  
"Okay, as most of you know by now because Tree Hill is such a small town, Haley went into premature labor last night. They managed to stop it but she has to stay in the hospital until the twins are born. Nathan's decided to stay with her. Haley in particular is worried about missing so much school and since that's the last thing she needs to be worrying about I came up with a plan. I have in my hand a schedule of Haley and Nathan's classes. If possible I'd like each of you to sign up to take notes in one of their classes each weak. That will at least give them one less thing to think about.  
  
Everyone nodded in agreement and a few minutes later the schedule was filled up. He was really pleased at how people were coming together for his friend and his brother, even though Nathan hadn't always been the nicest person in the world. Something great had already come of the twons' existence, the school was no longer as divided. For the first time, the jocks and cheerleaders co-mingled with the rest of the school population in peace. Lucas hoped it would continue once the drama was over. 


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter 29  
  
A/N Okay, this is the second to last chapter in this story. It takes place a few weeks after the last chapter. Haley is now 36 weeks pregnant.  
  
"Hey!" Peyton shrieked when a sponge loaded with yellow paint hit her in the back of the head. She turned around and saw Brooke grinning at her. "You're going to get it." She painted a long streak down Brooke's shirt with her roller. "Take that."  
  
Soon it was an all out paint war as other people got caught in the middle. Several members of the cheer squad and the basketball team were having a painting party at the Scott house to decorate the nursery. Since Nathan and Haley hadn't had a chance to do it, they'd decided to give them one last thing to think about and help out. It had been Peyton's suggestion and she was amazed at how many people had volunteered to help.  
  
After the paint war was over, Peyton looked around and smiled. It really was amazing how everyone had come together for Nathan and Haley. Even Tim was there, moving furniture around under Brooke's careful supervision. He and Lucas were laughing and joking around. It was something she'd never thought she'd see.  
  
It was almost midnight that same day when they could all finally put down their paint brushes and admire their work. It was beautiful. In a single day they had somehow managed to turn the drab room into someplace warm and welcoming. They'd painted the walls a pale yellow with daisies because Haley had said she loved the flowers. The pictures Peyton had painted hung above either crib and an old rocking chair that Lucas had found and refurbished with Tim's help sat by the window. Peyton thought it would be the perfect spot for Haley to rock her girls to sleep.  
  
"Wow, great job guys," she said to the others. "I think they're really going to love this."  
  
After everyone had left, she and Lucas stood in the room for awhile. "I'm really happy with how it turned out. It looks so cozy it kinda makes me want to have a baby." She laughed at the panic look that crossed Lucas' face. "But not yet."  
  
"Good. You scared me for a minute there. I think I'd like to stick with being an uncle for a while yet."  
  
"Yeah. And I'm perfectly fine with being Auntie Peyton for the time being. You really think they'll like it?"  
  
"I think Haley's going to flip when she sees it. And Nate will be happy that it's not pink."  
  
Peyton laughed. "Yeah he did say he was afraid Haley was going to have everything pink. You know, a lot of people might think otherwise given how young Haley and Nathan are but those girls are really lucky that they're going to have them as parents. I don't think any man could love his daughter more than nathan already loves those babies."  
  
"Yea. It's really amazing how much this has changed him."  
  
"I'm not sure he's changed exactly. I think it's more that first Haley and now the twins have brought out a softer side to him that he was always afraid to show before. I don't think he ever really hated you Luke. I think he was just scared to like you."  
  
"Yea. You might be right. I never thought it would happen but I'm really proud to call him my brother."  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile.  
  
"Nathan, Nathan wake up." Haley whispered.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Go get the doctor. I think it's time."  
  
"Time? What? Oh, time. Oh my God it's time."  
  
"Whoa, Nathan breathe. Go get the doctor."  
  
"Right. Okay. Just stay calm." He ran out of the room and returned moments later with the doctor in tow.  
  
"All right let's have a look here. When did your water break?"  
  
"A few minutes ago. It's still early isn't it?"  
  
"You're thirty-six weeks which is still considered premature but thirty- seven weeks is full term so I don't think you have anything to worry about. The babies' weights are good and their lungs are developped. From what I can tell, there shouldn't be any serious complications."  
  
"You're sure?" Haley asked, her voice a little shaky.  
  
"I'm sure. What I need you to do is to try and relax as much as possible. I'm going to get an OB nurse in to help you along. Nathan, why don't you go ahead and call your families."  
  
"Okay." Nathan picked up the phone by Haley's bed and called the first number that came to mind. "Hello, Lucas?" ***  
  
Back in the nursery with Peyton and Lucas. Lucas' cell phone began to ring. "Hello? Nathan? What? She is? Yea, we'll be right there. Wait, have you told your mom?"  
  
"What is it?" Peyton asked.  
  
"Haley's in labor. We have to go to the hospital."  
  
"Of course. We'll take my car."  
  
"Yea but first we need to go get Deb."  
  
Lucas knocked softly on Deb's bedroom door. It felt a little awkward, knowing that she used to share that room with Dan. "Deb?"  
  
"What is it Lucas?" She asked when she came to the door.  
  
"Nathan just called. The babies are coming."  
  
"Oh my. We have to get there."  
  
"We will. Come on let's go. Peyton will drive."  
  
***  
  
Lucas called his mom and Haley's parents on the way to the hospital.  
  
"You should call Brooke too." Peyton suggested. "She's gotten a lot closer with Nathan and Haley lately and I know she's want to be there."  
  
"Good idea." He pulled out his cell phone again. "Hey Brooke, Haley's having te babies. Yeah. We'll see you there."  
  
***  
  
Half an hour later everyone was gathered in the waiting room. Lucas couldn't stop pacing. Haley was like a sister to him and he'd come to care a great deal about the twins even though he hadn't met them yet.  
  
"Whoa Luke, stop wearing a rut in the floor. That's my job." Nathan joked, entering the room.  
  
Everyone rushed up to him, throwing out a million questions. "What's happening? How is she? How much longer?"  
  
"Come on people, how am I supposed to not panic when you're all hysterical. Her water broke and her contractions are getting closer together. So far she's doing fine. She's my hero. I don't think I could do it. The doctor figures they'll be bron before breakfast. She's progressing pretty quickly. Thanks for being here everyone. It really means a lot to us. So now that I've satisfied everyone's curiosity I'm going to get back to Haley." He turned to Mrs. James. "She told me to tell you she wants her mommy. The nurse will give you a gown to wear."  
  
"Oh, wow. Of course." Haley's mother grinned.  
  
A few hours later  
  
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Haley screamed.  
  
The nurse turned to Nathan. "Don't worry, it's not personal."  
  
"Thanks. It's okay baby. I know, it's all my fault. Go ahead and yell."  
  
"You are NEVER touching me again! Do you hear me!!!???"  
  
"Whatever you want." He spoke softly. "Come on Haley, breathe, in and out that's it."  
  
It was hard for him to watch her in so much pain and not be able to do anything about it. The contractions were quickly getting more and more intense. He was grateful that Haley's mother was there; she was helping to keep them both calm.  
  
"Let's see where we're at." The doctor said, coming in to check on Haley. "I think we're about ready to push."  
  
"Really?" Haley asked in disbelief.  
  
"You think I'd lie to you at a time like this? Nathan, I want you to put you hand under her knee to give her leverage, her mom can do the same with the other knee. Haley, take a deep breathe and let it out. That's it. Now take another breathe and hold it. Now push. Hard as you can. Chin to your chest."  
  
"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10..." Nathan counted.  
  
Haley's head fell back onto the pillow.  
  
"That's it."  
  
"Good job baby, good job. You're doing great."  
  
Two hours later  
  
"I can't do it. I can't. I can't." Haley sobbed.  
  
"Yes you can Hales. Come on. You're so close. We're so close."  
  
"A few more good pushes and the first baby's head will be out. Now push."  
  
"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10..."  
  
"I see the head. You want to come have a look Dad."  
  
Nathan went over to the doctor and looked. "Oh my God. Hales, it's so amazing."  
  
"1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10..."  
  
Haley pushed with all her might. "And we have baby number 1."  
  
"Oh my god." Nathan sobbed. "She's beautiful."  
  
"Wow." Was all Haley could say. "I don't think I can keep going."  
  
"Yes you can. The second baby is always faster. I can already see the head."  
  
Ten minutes later  
  
"Here she comes! Yep, another girl." A nurse placed Haley's children on her chest. "Thank you." She whispered to Nathan.  
  
"How are they?" Haley asked, a little nervous.  
  
"They're a little small so we're going to keep them in the NICU for observation for a few days but otherwsie everything looks good."  
  
"Oh thank God."  
  
Before they brought the girls to the NICU they let Haley and Nathan hold them. "Do they have names?" The nurse asked.  
  
Haley nodded. "Ailis Madison Scott and Regan Marie Scott."  
  
"Those are beautiful."  
  
"Scott?" Nathan asked, puzzled, he'd figured Haley would give them her last name since they weren't married.  
  
"Of course. And one day I know it will be my name too."  
  
Meanwhile, Haley's mom went to tell the others.  
  
"They have two beautiful twin girls, each weighing four pounds and change. They're small so the doctor wants to keep them in observation for a few days but he says there's nothing to really worry about."  
  
"Wow. How's Haley?" Lucas asked.  
  
"Exhausted, understandable but she was a champion. Nathan held it together pretty well too. They told me to tell you all that they're naming them Ailis Madison Jame Scott and Regan Marie James Scott. Haley wanted them to have Nathan's last name. The doctor says you can come in and see them one at a time."  
  
Lucas went in first. "Hey buddy. Wow, you're a mom."  
  
"I know." Haley smiled. "How weird is that."  
  
"And you're a dad." Lucas turned to Nathan. "Congratulations man." 


	30. Chapter Thirty

Chapter 30 (THE END)  
  
A/N: Sniffle. So this is it. It's shorter than I wanted the end to be but I wanted to leave lots to cover in the sequel. I'm going to miss writing this. It's been a great outlet. I hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it and I hope you''ll read the sequel Baby Steps that I'll hopefully be posting over the weekend.  
  
And I can't end this without thanking everyone who has left feedback for this story. You have kept me going through writer's block, school stress and personal crises. Without your comments this story would have never been completed. You guys rock.  
  
"Hey Hales..." Lucas greeted as he entered the room but trailed off when he saw Haley was breast-feeding. "Uh...I'll come back later."  
  
"What's your problem Luke?" Nathan laughed. "It's a perfectly natural thing."  
  
"Yea, besides, you're going to have to get used to it if you plan on seeing much of me for the next few months. This will be a regular event."  
  
"Uh...right." Lucas sat in a vacant chair but still looked uncomfortable. "So...uh...does it hurt?"  
  
"A little. It's good pain though."  
  
"This is so weird. You're a mom. And you," he pointed at Nathan. "You're a dad. Can't quite wrap my head around it."  
  
"Yea, it's pretty surreal."  
  
"So what did you do, buy out the gift shop?" Nathan teased.  
  
Lucas looked at the bags in his hands. "I guess I got a little carried away."  
  
"I wouldn't talk if I were you Nathan. They're only two weeks old and they're already spoiled rotten."  
  
"Yep and I wouldn't have it any other way."  
  
"Hey, I haven't even gotten to hold one of them yet." Lucas whined and Nathan reluctantly handed Regan to him. "Careful of her head."  
  
"I know how to hold a baby Nate. Relax. So when do you get to take them home?" Haley had been released from the hospital a week after giving birth but the twins had to stay longer.  
  
"The doctor says maybe tomorrow if the latest tests check out."  
  
"Wow. You look really great Hales. Motherhood agrees with you."  
  
"Hey, hey, hey stop flirting with the mother of my children. I'm in the room for crying out loud." Nathan pretended to be jealous.  
  
"Like you have anything to worry about. I've been trying to steal from her but for some unknown reason she only has eyes for you. I must admit; you have some cute kids here Nate. Luckily for them, they look nothing like you."  
  
"Yeah I know. They're going to look just like they're mommy." Nathan was grinning and Lucas couldn't help but stare at his brother in awe. Nathan really had proven him wrong.  
  
"Hey there sweetheart," Lucas cooed. "I'm your uncle Lucas. I'm going to help your daddy keep the boys away."  
  
"The poor things, between the two of you they might not get to leave the house their whole teenagers."  
  
Lucas looked at Nathan. "Seems like a good idea to me."  
  
"Yep," agreed Nathan. "Sounds like a plan."  
  
***  
  
"Do we have everything?" Haley asked.  
  
"Yep. Diaper bag, check. Suitcase, check. Babies, check."  
  
"Funny. I can't believe we get to take them home today. Now we really are parents."  
  
Nathan couldn't help but notice the frown on Haley's face. "What's the matter Hales. We're taking our daughters home. It's a happy day."  
  
"I know but to what. A nursery with bare white walls and stuff in boxes. When are we going to get a chance to finish it when we have two newborns to take care of and you're going back to school soon?"  
  
"We'll figure something out. And no matter what colour the walls are, they already have the most important thing, a mommy and daddy who love them more than life itself."  
  
That made Haley smile. "You're right. I know you're right. I just really wanted it to be perfect you know."  
  
"I know. Come on, if we don't get going soon they're going to think we're moving in."  
  
Nathan carried Ailis in her car seat and Haley took Regan. They said goodbye to all the nurses as the exited the hospital. Both were a little nervous. This was where it would really begin. It was different in the hospital when there were always other people around. They were about to learn what being teenage parents was really like.  
  
Nathan opened the door to the SUV and strapped Ailis in first, followed by Regan. He checked and double-checked to make sure everything was properly secured. He wasn't taking any chances. "This is it girlies," he said in a sing-songy voice. "We're going home."  
  
Once the girls were settled he opened the passenger door for Haley then got into the driver's seat. "You ready to go?"  
  
"Yep. Drive on."  
  
***  
  
Deb, who had been waiting by the window, ran out to meet them when they pulled up. "There you! Let me see my grand babies. Hello little ones...hello. I'm all set so spoil you rotten. Yes I am." She turned to Haley. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Like I gave birth to twins two weeks ago. At least I got a decent night's sleep last night. Probably the last for awhile."  
  
"If they're anything like they're dad you won't get another full night's sleep for about five years. Well come on, let's go inside."  
  
"What's going on Mom?" Nathan could tell his mom was excited about something.  
  
"Nothing. I'm just glad you're all home. Here, let me take one." She took Regan out of the car seat while haley carried Ailis. Nathan was stuck with all the bags. They followed Deb up to the nursery.  
  
"Okay. I want you both to close your eyes. Don't open them until I say so." She opened the door and led them in. "Okay, now."  
  
"Oh my!" was all Haley could say. "It's beautiful. Did you know anything about this?"  
  
Nathan shook his head. "I'm as surprised as you are. Who did this?"  
  
"It was Lucas, Peyton and Brooke's idea but they had everyone help. Even Tim."  
  
"Tim? Wow. This is awesome."  
  
"Well we knew you were worried about not getting the babies' room done and everyone wanted to help. I'll leave you guys alone for a bit."  
  
They laid their daughters in their cribs and then stood there staring at them, their arms wrapped around each other. Both were crying.  
  
"You okay?" Nathan asked, wiping a tear from Haley's cheek.  
  
"Yea, just a little overwhelmed. Are we really going to be able to do this Nate?"  
  
"Of course we will because not only do we love them and each other but we have a lot of friends and family around to support us. We'll make it Hales. I know we will." And saying it, he truly believed it.  
  
THE END  
  
Preview of Baby Steps, sequel to Repeated History  
  
-welcome to the world party -Nathan and Haley pick the god-parents -drama at the baptism 


End file.
